There’s an ad on TV that is really bugging me. The ad is for “Warriors in pink” which is a marketing campaign powered by Ford to boost their sales and at the same time, support Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. It’s wonderful that Ford is helping to support this great organization, but I have real concern with how they are trying to spread “awareness”. Here’s a quote from the Warriors in Pink TV ad:  

“Every woman’s breasts are perfect and at risk.”

Grrrrrrr… Many women already know that breast cancer is an issue to be aware of. On a daily basis we’re encouraged to self-check, get mammograms and consult the family tree. But seriously, to say every woman is at risk seems excessive. Why spread fear into this issue? And, what about the men? Where are their fear-mongering cancer advertisements? I’ll throw one out;

“Every man’s testicles are perfect and at risk.”

Hmmmm… OK, the lifetime risk of being diagnosed with testicular cancer is far less than getting a diagnosis for breast cancer. But, if you have testicles, you’re at risk for testicular cancer. If you have breasts (women and men) you are at risk for breast cancer. If you have a leg, you are at risk for a leg amputation. If Ford wanted to bring awareness, they should have shared risk factors for breast cancer, not threaten all women.

Perhaps I’m freaking out about something silly. It just really hurts me to think that an advertisement could be making so many women fearful. Yes, it would be wonderful if a woman saw this ad, was impacted by it, visited the site, learned how to do a breast self-exam, found a lump, was diagnosed early with cancer and is a survivor because of this campaign. But, what about the thousands of other women whose lives may be impacted by anxiousness, worry and obsessive thoughts about cancer? Is this fair or ethical?

Let’s discuss…

Blessings,

Aimee

Posted on October 17th, 2008 under Miscellaneous • RSS 2.0 feed • Leave a response, or trackback