Seeing Pink!

With apologies to members of the pink "save-the-ta-tas" sisterhood, I'm starting to see red about seeing pink. It could be that I'm the only chick on the planet who is beginning to feel manipulated by the Susan G. Komen Foundation, American Cancer Society, the AstraZeneca drug company and any number of other non-profit or for-profit organizations involved in the Breast Cancer Awareness campaign. Pink warning flags have begun springing up in my mind.

I'm not sure who to give the credit to, but someone is an advertising genius. Tons of corporate sponsorships, Races for the Cure in every town, lighting up entire cities in pink, football teams dressed in pink. Then there's the pink ribbon. Ooohh... that little pink ribbon. It's everywhere, and it has attained the kind of "brand recognition" that most advertising executives can only dream of.  We see the pink and we know it stands for breast cancer awareness, as surely as the golden arches stands for McDonalds. Add that to the emotion of personal experience with breast cancer and the human need for community (the pink sisterhood) and you have the perfect advertising storm. Brand recognition + emotion + sisterhood = $$$$$ That's an awful lot of money going into those coffers. Do we really know that it is being used for the noblest of purposes.. to find a cure?

Just to clarify, I'm not a heartless spendthrift who wants women to die of breast cancer! When I do give money to a worthy cause I want to know how and by whom it is being used. I'm not willing to assume P&G (for example) is practicing due diligence to make certain the extra quarter I spend on mouthwash is going directly to finding a cure for cancer. And, considering the millions of dollars already raised by this campaign, it seems we should be hearing about the progress these organizations are making to find a cure. To date I haven't seen any evidence that we're any closer to a cure now than we were ten years ago. Call me a skeptic, but whenever I see that much money and effort concentrated on one worthy cause I get suspicious.

I think it's possible that this campaign has reached it's saturation point. Great advertising campaigns are effective only until people feel they are in control of their money. The minute they feel manipulated they will begin to close up their pocketbooks.