A friend forwarded me an interesting article about the marketing of breast cancer. Business 2.0 takes an interesting look at now corporations take advantage of such charitable opportunities, noting that most companies allocate money from their marketing budgets, not from their philanthropic projects. This quote excerpted from the article sums up their point very well:

What's behind corporate America's love affair with the pink ribbon? While it stands
for a deadly illness, its color renders it nonthreatening and feminine. It's "a do-good
kind of seal," says one merchandiser who's eager to put it on his new line of fabric
softener sheets. Other diseases -- notably heart disease and lung cancer -- kill far
more women than breast cancer, but they aren't linked to one of society's prime
symbols of womanhood. What's more, breast cancer is free of sin, not clearly tied to
overeating, sex, or smoking, and can strike the young and beautiful. And no woman
is untouched: Everyone either has had the disease, fears she'll get it, or knows
someone who has. "If you can translate that emotional response to a feeling about
your business, that's powerful," says Joanne Mazurki, who helped develop Avon's
campaign.

The Selling of Breast Cancer.pdf
- posted by JW Walthall at 2:54 AM | Permanent Link | 0 comments