REMEDIAL CRITIQUE

Cause Marketing Gets Pink in the Face

By Maureen Murphy

After September 11, 2001, consumer confidence dropped significantly, fears of job cutbacks caused many to keep a tighter grip on their wallets, and corporations had a harder time selling products to a nation too preoccupied to go shopping for vacuum cleaners and commit to a certain brand of yogurt. One of the distracting feelings Americans felt was a sense of obligation to “do something” — firefighters in New York were putting their lives on the line while we watched on TV. Ignited in us was the need to say we have given back to the community. But since we were too nervous to donate our money to non-profit organizations that weren’t the Red Cross, this obligation went unfulfilled

That is until American Express, Yoplait, and Eureka vacuum cleaners, among other companies, came up with a great new way to make lazy Americans feel like they’ve contributed to a greater cause — by exploiting the pink ribbon used by breast cancer research advocates. Using a concept called “cause marketing,” these companies promised to donate once cent to breast cancer research every time we used our American Express card or ten cents every time we sent a Yoplait cap back to the company.

Sounds good, right? Big corporations demonized by scandals such as Enron and WorldCom get good PR and lethargic Americans feel like they are contributing to a worthy cause. However, as Breast Cancer Action’s “Think Before You Pink” campaign warns, the money companies devote to advertise such PR projects often eclipses the amount of money actually donated to breast cancer research.

According to Bust magazine, one of the more “idiotic” campaigns is Yoplait Yogurt’s “Save Lids to Save Lives”: “For each pink yogurt lid mailed back, Yoplait donates ten cents to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. You would have to send back four lids just to cover the cost of the stamp.” Wouldn’t it be easier and less sticky to send the forty cents directly to the Susan G. Komen Foundation yourself?

Eureka vacuum cleaners’ “Clean for the Cure” campaign recognizes that “vacuuming is sometimes part of the problem for individuals recovering from breast cancer.” Mother Jones reports that Eureka will donate one dollar to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation for each WhirlWind Litespeed vacuum cleaner, which retail for $200-$300, and “will provide six women a year’s worth of cleaning services...” This dollar donation is less than one percent of the cost of the vacuum cleaner and the program has an annual cap of $250,000, which is probably close to its advertising costs. And, as Mother Jones asks, “Should a woman recovering from surgery or chemo be made to give a damn about dust bunnies?”

Not only do these negligible amounts point to the conclusion that companies are exploiting breast cancer to restore consumer confidence and boost profits, but as Breast Cancer Action states, they also “exploit the most conventional stereotypes of women — cooking, cleaning, shopping, wearing makeup — suggesting that women are more suited for consumerism than political action.” It also implies that women are stupid; I’m not falling for these PR campaigns disguised as charity drives.

Unfortunately, some are. Breast Cancer Action reports, “Avon’s ‘Kiss Goodbye to Breast Cancer’ campaign features a line of six lip colors with names such as ‘Courageous Coral,’ ‘Brave Brocade,’ and ‘Determined Red.’ Each lipstick costs $4, one dollar of which goes to the Avon Foundation, which funds selected breast cancer organizations and research institutions.” Breast Cancer Action adds, “Avon, which initiated the lipstick venture in 2001, notes in its annual report that it experienced a sales increase last year driven by a 6 percent growth in units due in part to ‘the success of the ... lipstick campaign,’ adding that the event was ‘critical to the color category’s success in 2001.’”
These pink campaigns don’t really succeed in funding breast cancer research so much as they perpetuate antiquated notions of women’s activism (think bake sales) and rake in more profits for the companies. Breast Cancer Action urges us to Think Before You Pink and eliminate the middle man in cancer research fundraising by taking matters into our own hands and donating directly to research foundations.

For more information about Think Before You Pink, visit thinkbeforeyoupink.org.