Running Head: THE EFFECTS MEDIA HAS ON BREAST CANCER

The Effect Media Has On Breast Cancer

Morgan Clarke
12/11/14

THE EFFECTS MEDIA HAS ON BREAST CANCER

In 2010, Dansko shoe company sold pink ribbon clogs. Consumers thought that a portion
of their purchase went to a breast cancer program. However, purchase of the pink ribbon clogs
was not affiliated to Danskos donation; none of the sales went toward their set donation of
$25,000 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. No matter whether someone bought the clogs or not,
their donation was the same. Devon Ody states, Eureka vacuum cleaners launched a campaign
called Clean for the Cure, where a portion of their profits goes to help breast cancer research.
What they dont advertise in the campaign is that Eureka donates less than 1% of the sales from
the vacuum to breast cancer charities (Ody, year, p.1). Companies are using the pink ribbon to
benefit themselves and not actually donate funds to breast cancer research.
In the early 1950s, women who were diagnosed with breast cancer were humiliated, and
more often than not kept it a secret. They thought that people would think they were rotten if
they knew. Fortunately, now there is awareness of the disease all over the country and women are
willing to let people know. They want the support when going through this hard time in their life.
One organization that supports breast cancer is Susan G. Komen for the Cure. It is the most
widely known, largest, and highest-funded breast cancer organization in America. In reality
though, Susan G. Komen for the Cure is a multimillion-dollar company with assets totaling over
$390 million. Only 20.9% of these funds were reportedly used in the 2009-2010 fiscal year for
research for the cure. Where does the rest of the money go? Lets have a look. Health screening
is 13.0%. Treatment is 5.6%. Fundraising is 10.0%. The largest chunk of the pie is going toward
public health education, 39.1% (Michele, year, p.1). Public health meaning, the science of
protecting the safety and improving the health of communities through education, policy making
and research for disease and injury prevention. 39.1% of that $390 million dollars goes towards
the instruction of how not to get the disease. We understand that people are aware of the disease

THE EFFECTS MEDIA HAS ON BREAST CANCER

now, but why not put that money to good use and donate specifically to the research of breast
cancer? Who is actually doing the research to find the cure as compared to who runs awareness
associations? You never hear about donations straight to an organization for the research; you
only hear about the donations to the awareness organizations. It could be argued that, that
specific organization is in the right.
Komen for the Cure has helped train more than 400 breast cancer researchers and
funded more than 1,800 research projects over the past 26 years. They have provided
more money for breast cancer research and community health programs than any entity
besides the United States government, and Komen for the Cures goal is to energize
science to find the cures (Selleck, 2010, p. 122).
Yes Komen for the cure does say that they have funded over eighteen hundred research projects
and have provided the most money for the cause of any other organization. But no where does
the organization say how much of that money goes to the actual research. One could be blind to
the fact that even more money goes to raise awareness for breast cancer than the research.
Another way of identifying this cause-related marketing scheme is pinkwashing. Pink
washing is when companies take the pink ribbon and use it for the companies benefit. Amy
Mccarthy (2013) acknowledges that, The most common form of pinkwashing is when
companies offer to donate a portion of profits generated from pink-labeled products to a breast
cancer charity. Often, the company doesnt even tie their donation to sales of the pink labeled
product. Instead, they will use the product to generate goodwill toward their brand while making
a pre-set donation.(Mccarthy) Mccarthy is wise when she says that companies use the products
to benefit the brand while they have a predetermined set amount of money. So it may be that no
portion of the price of a pink ribbon product will go to charity. A question that could be asked is:

THE EFFECTS MEDIA HAS ON BREAST CANCER

Do the companies make more money when selling pink items? Yes, in fact companies that sell
pink ribbon products make more money. If they make more money it should be easier to donate
the extra money to charity. Companies make more money, especially during October, people are
predisposed to buying pink ribbon products to feel like they are helping.
For example Smriti Sinha writes about the NFL and their contribution, or in other words,
little contribution to the pink ribbon donation cause. As clearly evident, October is breast cancer
awareness month and the NFL takes great use of that month. You can come across products such
as: towels, gloves, water bottles, face paint, stickers, even cleats are pinkwashed items. Not only
do the athletes show they are supportive but cheerleaders do as well, with pink pom poms, face
paint, shoes and socks. For football fans seeing popular players may make one feel like they
want some of the products players have as well. It is a marketing scheme that gets customers to
fall for the idea that famous players have something in common with ordinary people watching
the game from the stands or the television. And Sinha does not deny this fact, This is how it
works: The NFL donates proceeds from its awareness campaign, auctions, and the NFL Shop to
the American Cancer Society (ACS), which in turns uses that money to increase awareness,
education, and screenings for women over 40 (Sinha, year). Sinha later states, In fact, the
NFL's claim of 100 percent proceeds from auction and 100 percent proceeds from retail has
translated to an average of just $1.1 million every year since they partnered with ACS six years
ago. That's less than .01 percent of the approximately $10 billion the league made in revenue last
year. And almost five times less than what ACS' other partners, such as Walgreens, manage to
donate to the same programa program that, again, gives zero dollars to cancer research
(Sinha, year). This reminds us of the idea of pinkwashing. The NFL states that they give all of
their proceeds to charity but in reality only give less than .01% of the proceeds to cancer

THE EFFECTS MEDIA HAS ON BREAST CANCER

research. And even then, instead of actually giving that donation to research, they give it to
increase the awareness of breast cancer. If everyone is already aware of breast cancer enough that
they buy the products thinking they are helping finance a cure, why are the proceeds going to
raise awareness instead of the research?
Cause related marketing by definition by P.H.D. Harvey in the article The Power of Pink:
Cause-Related Marketing and the Impact on Breast Cancer, states that, Unlike contributions
that fall under corporate philanthropy, cause-related marketing involves businesses linking
donations to sales, with the clearly stated goal of mutual benefit. When a business participates in
a cause-related marketing campaign, it links the sales of its products or services with financial
support for a cause or charity. The business actively promotes the linkage between sales and
donations to its target customers (Harvey and Strahilevitz, 2009). Another way of looking at
cause related marketing is by Broderick from the article Tickled Pink: The Personal Meaning of
Cause related Marketing for Customers concedes, Cause Related Marketing has become more
widespread over the past few years and it is arguably becoming a strategic element within the
marketing of business organizations (Broderick, Jogi and Garry, 2003).
Any company can put a pink ribbon on its products. Some products have a pink ribbon in
order to indicate that the company supports breast cancer programs even if the companys
contributions are not tied to the purchases of the specific product bearing the ribbon. Many
companies use the pink ribbon to their profit and not donate legitimate funds to breast cancer
organizations, and if they do, most of the time it is to awareness foundations instead of actual
research organizations. The next time a pink product is tempting, ask if and where any of the
proceeds are going to.
References

THE EFFECTS MEDIA HAS ON BREAST CANCER

Broderick, A., Jogi, A., & Garry, T. (2003) Tickled pink: the personal meaning of cause related
marketing for customers. Journal of marketing Management, 19(5-6), 583-610.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1362/026725703322189968
Harvey, J. A., & Strahilevitz, M. A. (2009) The power of pink: cause-related marketing and the
impact on breast cancer. Journal of the American College of Radiology, 6(1), 26-32.
http://www.sciencedirect.com.proxy.lib.pdx.edu/science/article/pii/S1546144008003748,
DOI: 10.1016/j.jacr.2008.07.010
Mccarthy, A. (2013). Pinkwashing: The Truth Behind Breast Cancer Awareness Products.
Retrieved from http://www.bustle.com/articles/7169-pinkwashing-the-truth-behindbreast-cancerawareness-products
Michele, E. (2012, February 4). I Will Not Be Pinkwashed: Komen's Race Is For Money, Not
Cure, Retrieved from
http://www.alternet.org/story/154010/i_will_not_be_pinkwashed:_komen's_race_is_for_
money,not_cure
Ody, D. (2008). Think Pink? Or Think Profit? Retrieved from
http://www.mhlearningsolutions.com/commonplace/index.php?q=node/3769
Selleck, L. G. (2010). Pretty in pink: The Susan G. Komen network and the branding of the
breast cancer cause. Nordic Journal of English Studies, 9(3), 119-138.
Sinha, S. (2014, October 8). The NFL's Pink October Does Not Raise Money for Cancer
Research | VICE Sports. from https://sports.vice.com/article/the-nfls-pink-october-doesnot-raise-money-for-cancer-research