Mangiaracina: How businesses profit from breast cancer

I don't agree with your sentiments at all. 2 cents per can is better than 0 cents per can. If the company profits in the meantime, I don't see a problem. When people choose to increase their purchases during the time period that these drives take place they are choosing to buy soup AND donate to charity. Increased sales can only be seen as a sign of the good will of soup purchasers and positive intentions by the companies who lead the drives.

I hope that other charity organizations can look to the pink ribbon movement for hints on how to put together a great charity drive.

You do make a good point about the mix of priorities we have when it comes to dealing with disease, though. HIV, for example, only kills about 14,000 Americans per year yet we put more federal money into AIDS research than all cancer research combined, all heart disease research, etc. Keep in mind that this isn't even counting charity donations for AIDS research, which are massive.

But you know what? If we cure either of these health problems we will help a lot of people and learn techniques that may lead to the cure of other cancers and pathogenic diseases. HIV infects 33 million people worldwide. Imagine what a difference it would make in the parts of the world where HIV is rampant if we were to eliminate it.

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• Posted by connerm on November 14, 2008 at 2:22 p.m.
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Mangiaracina: How businesses profit from breast cancer

Good post, connerm.

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• Posted by Hendrix321 on November 15, 2008 at 2:06 a.m.
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Mangiaracina: How businesses profit from breast cancer

great column, nick. whether we want to see it or not, many industries (especially the health industry - emphasis on industry) are definitely out to make a buck off of disease and illness, rather than just flat out trying to fix the problem.

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• Posted by hardcastle on November 16, 2008 at 1:18 p.m.
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Mangiaracina: How businesses profit from breast cancer

AIDS affects men and women about equally, whereas breast cancer overwhelmingly affects women. The focus of this piece is how corporations sucker women into buying more products. I agree that we shouldn't spend so much money on AIDS research, though there are plenty of things we spend way too much money on, like the military, unnecessary wars, subsidizing the rich etc. Also, there are many other small killers I could have included, like homicide, airplane crashes, etc., but didn't have the space or time to go into these. You unfortunately have to focus tightly under such constraints.

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• Posted by smooven on November 17, 2008 at 7:52 p.m.
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Mangiaracina: How businesses profit from breast cancer

I have to say that in this case, something is better than nothing.

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• Posted by Hendrix321 on November 21, 2008 at 3:05 a.m.
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Mangiaracina: How businesses profit from breast cancer

"If the company profits in the meantime, I don't see a problem."

The problem is companies are using breast cancer, a life threatening and potentially life ruining disease, to make that profit. Sure, 2 cents might go to fund research, but the rest of it goes straight back to the company, who again will use breast cancer as a selling point. It is a disease, not a marketing ploy.

"Increased sales can only be seen as a sign of the good will of soup purchasers and positive intentions by the companies who lead the drives."

Which is exactly the soup companies hope. By purchasing soup, the consumer feels great about what they've done, but in my opinion, that feeling is far more powerful than the actual effect those two cents will have on breast cancer research. That feeling will prompt the consumer to purchase Campbell's in the future even when the campaign is over, knowing the company has helped fund research in the past. In the long run, who benefits more, breast cancer research or Campbell's? Eventually, people will forget why they purchase the soup, but continue to do so anyway.

"I hope that other charity organizations can look to the pink ribbon movement for hints on how to put together a great charity drive."

This isn't a charity drive, it is an ad campaign that uses breast cancer to sell a product with the added benefit of sending a minuscule amount of the profits to breast cancer research. People buy the product to make themselves feel good which is about the most powerful effect those two cents will make.

As a woman, I fully support the argument Mangiaracina is making. At the heart of his argument is the age old saying "sex sells." Who doesn't like breasts? Not KU. In the month of October, shirts were sold on campus displaying the words "SAVE SECOND BASE." Those shirts reduced awareness of this life threatening disease to saving those lumps on women's chests so their partners have something to grab a hold of while making out. It is easy to use breast cancer as a selling point. Mangiaracina points out over half a million women die from heart disease and lung cancer a year. Only 40,000 die from breast cancer. As someone who has lost two family members to breast cancer, it find it sickening that these companies use the disease to sell products. It is too easy to speak of what these companies are doing as good because of the positive connotations charity has in our culture. Who really benefits from those two cents? Not women with breast cancer.

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• Posted by kidgloves on November 24, 2008 at 1:28 p.m.
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