DALLAS - The pink ribbons will still adorn everything from teddy bears to yogurt lids. But now, Susan G. Komen for the Cure is also taking a more provocative approach with its familiar symbol.
New billboards across the nation feature the organization’s logo and a woman’s upper body in a T-shirt that reads: “We only focus on one thing. Or, depending on how you look at it, two.”
The nonprofit dedicated to finding a cure for breast cancer has about 100 billboards in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
A separate print ad features a woman in a tank top with a message promising to pummel breast cancer “until it’s good and dead. Not just horror movie dead but really, truly dead. And then we’re going to tie a pink ribbon on it.”
The agency also recently printed a number of shirts for celebrities and friends of the organization that read: “If You’re Going to Stare at My Breasts, You Could At Least Donate A Dollar to Save Them.”
The ad campaign is one of several new steps the Komen organization is taking on its 25th anniversary to move its efforts to a new level.
The largest private source of funding for breast cancer research has a lot to celebrate - rising survival rates, an increase in federal dollars for research, and greater early detection of the disease, founder Nancy Brinker told 1,000 breast cancer activists at the organization’s annual conference in Dallas on Friday.
But the group’s work is hardly done, she said.
“The race is not won,” Brinker said at the two-day event. “We’re on the verge of turning breast cancer into a manageable disease. Our mission is to wipe it from the face of the earth.”
The foundation is planning several new initiatives. In addition to the ad campaign, the organization aims to make cancer an issue in the 2008 elections, Brinker said. It plans to invest $1 billion in breast cancer research and community health and education programs in the next 10 years. And it is committed to reaching deeper into under-served U.S. communities and farther around the globe.
“We’ve made so much progress these past 25 years, but much of the world is far behind,” Brinker said.
The Komen organization, formerly the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, plans the first Global Breast Cancer Advocate Summit in Budapest, Hungary, in September.
Karen Hughes, undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, spoke at the conference of the need to work toward removing cultural, social and economic barriers to preventing breast cancer worldwide.
“In too many countries, women are afraid to mention the words breast cancer,” she said. “Because it goes unmentioned, it goes undiagnosed.”
Vivian Lewis of Dallas, a longtime volunteer for the Komen organization, said she supports the new initiatives.
“Anything that will help find a cure for this awful disease is just awesome,” said Lewis, who said she got involved in the cause because of her aunt, who is a breast cancer survivor. “I’ve lost so many friends and family members.”
