Pink, pink everywhere the pink

[badstar]

Okay, so the last few months, I've noticed when I go shopping that everyone and everything is marketing for a cure for breast cancer.

Now please, don't take this for me belittling the seriousness of breast cancer, that is NOT what I'm commenting on here.

What I don't get is the fact that EVERYONE seems to be obsessed with it, and yeah, there are plenty of other charities for other forms of cancer but...well, they're not all obnoxious about it. Everything has to be that horrid shade of bubblegum pink with the ribbon design all over it. I've seen vacuum cleaners, blenders, paper towels, measuring cups, toilet paper...yes, toilet paper- what is it, wipe your ass for the cure? Seriously. Why not slap a little sticker on it and say "We'll donate two cents to breast cancer charities"? Why does it all have to be that shade of pink? Do people really have a desperate need to trumpet that badly how much they support the cause that they need pink toilet paper and a blender?

But why does no one seem to give a rip about other cancers? Not visibly anyway. Brain cancer? When is the last you heard about brain cancer? Or pancreatic cancer? Or lung cancer? Hell, the most obnoxious anti-smoking campaign* isn't half as annoying as pink everything everywhere you go you can't get it out of your field of sight, it's just there EVERYWHERE.

*yes, I am against smoking. But a lot of the anti-smoking campaigns are annoying too.

Comments

[raistlynn.livejournal.com]

I wonder if this is because it mostly affects women. Women can be pretty vocal/annoying at times. I do agree many other forms of cancer need to be looked at.

[fuego.livejournal.com]

Women can be pretty vocal/annoying at times.

Many are. Too bad many of those are in marketing.

[die-uberfrau.livejournal.com]

Why does it all have to be that shade of pink?

^This. So hard.

[phoenix-glow.livejournal.com]

Yes, yes, I agree, I've been fairly mystified about this pink everywhere. It is a bit odd.

[chironcentaur.livejournal.com]

Good to know we're not the only ones who find this strange. :-)

[ranger-hotsauce.livejournal.com]

It's a marketing campaign. They've chosen a color that people will identify with the feminine, and everybody is using the shame shade to create a cohesive image. What they want is for consumers to see that shade of pink and say "Hey, I can buy that to help fight breast cancer!" A little sticker won't be visible to an eye just glancing over a shelf. And they aren't doing a color for each type of cancer because
1) The breast cancer folks thought of it first
2) It would be overload. All emphasis equals no emphasis.

[fuego.livejournal.com]

And they aren't doing a color for each type of cancer because

I'm not saying that I think there should be an obnoxious in your face campaign on that level for every kind of cancer- I think I'd have to more somewhere that such campaigns were outlawed, just that you never really seem to see anything on most others, like they don't exist or something because they're not trendy.

[heartofmoon.livejournal.com]

I totally, completely agree with you. It's been driving me crazy for a long time.

What gets me is when they sell stuff for a cure that probably causes cancer in the first place. Like I saw a breast cancer pink teflon pan. Woot! Cure cancer by buying yourself some!

[theophania.livejournal.com]

Prosmoker here but glad we can agree on that much. *smile* As for the pink, being blind does have it's advantages I guess. lol

[fuego.livejournal.com]

Prosmoker here but glad we can agree on that much.

When I lived with my parents, I was the only one in a house of six people (seven when my niece was born) who smoked. Everyone smoked in the house, I could shower and wash my hair twice a day and still stink like an industrial-sized ash tray. I had two friends whose parents didn't like me to hang out with them because they were convinced that I smoked too and would try to pressure their kids into smoking.

I moved away for two years and was in a nearly smoke-free environment and when I came back, my respiratory system had a rather hard time adjusting.

I moved away again five and a half years ago, and have had nearly no smoke exposure since then. Last week, I got in a coworker's car. He lit up a cigarette with the window down and I literally was unable to inhale- it wasn't that the smoke bothered me, it was that my lungs actually stopped taking in air for a few seconds. So...it's kinda hard for me to be for smoking. But I try to not be all obnoxious about it, and some of the campaigns just make me embarassed to be anti-smoking.

I would imagine that being blind would make on oblivious to the pink :-P

[theophania.livejournal.com]

Well, it certainly makes sense that you'd be against it given your experiences. I'd never smoke around you. I usually have three or less cigarettes a day anyway, so it's not like I'm constantly running out for a cig. I sometimes get embarrassed by my fellow smokers when they throw cigarette butts out the window or deliberately blow smoke in people's faces when they're politely asked not to do so, particularly if it's a medical reason.

[fuego.livejournal.com]

Though, you'd be surprised at the spectrum of awareness ribbon colors they have and what they all represent

Actually, I wouldn't. I've done a bit of poking around for information on the ridiculous array of ribbon campaigns in protest of the pagan awareness purple ribbon in the past. I've got a post around here somewhere with an extensive list :-)

[verginiamus.livejournal.com]

Yes about all those ribbons. I remember the blue ribbon campaign for Disability Awareness. Blah. Ribbons don't do diddly unless you promote them like the breast folks. I hate going to my dentist in October (Breast Cancer Awareness Month), he and his entire staff are dressed in that pink color, they hand out pink bags with pink stuff about you guessed it. My son did not get a pink bag though. He didn't qualify although males also get breast cancer.

I hate that pink. Today I was buying mms for my son and they had the pink ones on sale. Blah.

[chironcentaur.livejournal.com]

You'd think the dentist would be more concerned about some variety of mouth cancer. *shrug*

[misswitch1369.livejournal.com]

I've get the most interesting one: a local heating oil company painted their delivery trucks that color. I thought now I've seen everything.