Pink: Not just for Pepto Bismol anymore

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited October 2008

    Had a bit of an emotional meltdown in the supermarket last night. Went in to pick up a flower and a balloon for my sensei's birthday and was attacked by pink cookie cutters (in the shape of BC ribbons), coolers, oven mitts, t-shirts, cupcake papers, lunch boxes, spatulas - the whole nine. My son starts rolling his eyes (I KNOW he was thinking "Here it comes! She's gonna blow!") so I start STOPPING people to tell them not to buy this stupid mess (NONE of the flipping merchandise - except for a magnet donating 29¢ to Komen - made any mention of donating squat). I finally asked to see a manager - who conveniently wasn't available. I wanted to rip the crap off the shelves and drop kick it...

    But I swear I will "Do a Bonnie" and kick the crap out of any pink chip displays I see. You rock, girl!! 

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  • abbadoodles
    abbadoodles Member Posts: 2,618
    edited October 2008

    Seriously, you girls should start doing what I'm doing; emailing any and all companies pushing pink.  I have yet to hear back from any of them, but I am doing it anyway.

    If a tree falls in a forest and no one is present, does it still make a thud?

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  • hooptiedoo
    hooptiedoo Member Posts: 100
    edited October 2008

    My NEWSPAPER (Oct. 1) is PINK. This is just too much!

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  • prayrv
    prayrv Member Posts: 941
    edited October 2008

    Well I did it.  I sent my local tv station an e-mail stating why not do a story on this.  Hope they get the message.

    Gentle Hugs,

    Trish

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  • Margerie
    Margerie Member Posts: 526
    edited October 2008

    Pinkwashing For Profit Month~  that is what it should be called.....

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  • dlb823
    dlb823 Member Posts: 9,430
    edited October 2008

    Got this today from Teleflora.  The subject  line makes it sound like they're major players in role of bc research: "Teleflora and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation Need Your Help!"  They also have a new category of arrangements called "Charity."

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  • BethNY
    BethNY Member Posts: 2,710
    edited October 2008

    I can already tell that one day this month I will lose it.

    Especially in the stores where they ask at the end of your purchase if you want to donate $1 for breast cancer.

    I should avoid shopping this month. lol.

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  • flyrzfan
    flyrzfan Member Posts: 557
    edited October 2008

    I think in order to kick off Breast Cancer Awareness month we should stage a demonstration.

    Everyone find a Pink Display and at 7pm EST we'll all knock them over!

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  • Maire67
    Maire67 Member Posts: 768
    edited July 2010

    ,

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  • LuAnnH
    LuAnnH Member Posts: 8,847
    edited October 2008

    I was mattress shopping last year and one of the brand of mattress had a big sign that they donated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to breast cancer.  So I asked my salesman, so you donate to breast cancer if I buy this one and he was very happily "oh yes" and then I said how much of the sale goes to breast cancer, he couldn't tell me but quoted the sign.  Well the sign didn't say who the money went to or what for so I said, is my money going into research, mammograms or to help cushion the pockets of some bogus ceo's pocket.  He was getting a bit flustered so I asked if he could get a manager that might be able to answer my questions better.  He looked at me weird and I told him breast cancer was very important to me and didn't have on my prostethesis and made my uneven breast very clear.  He tried to tell me no one thier could answer my questions.  So I politely said well then I can't buy your product and turned and left the store.

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  • PSK07
    PSK07 Member Posts: 781
    edited October 2008

    From the on-line edition of my local paper:

    "Right now, two well-known retailers, Lucy and Anthropologie, are donating the proceeds from the sales of exclusive (and great-looking) T-shirts to nonprofit organizations committed to the prevention of breast cancer and AIDS.

    "Portland's Lucy designs activewear that is functional and fashionable. This year, the company is partnering with Breast Cancer Network of Strength, a national nonprofit that provides emotional support for people dealing with breast cancer.

    "Lucy will donate 10 percent of sales (up to $15,000) of two Lucy brand signature T-shirts. The tees have been in stores all month, but will be the focus of a one-day national sales event on Saturday, Oct. 4, when stores hope to raise an additional $10,000, bringing the total donation to $25,000.

    "The feisty pink tees are adorned with one of two designs. The short-sleeved "Kick It Tee" ($30) features a kickboxer in mid-kick , while the long-sleeved "Pink Race Tee" ($38) shows a runner crossing the finish line, triumphant in the race against cancer."

    Lucy

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  • abbadoodles
    abbadoodles Member Posts: 2,618
    edited October 2008

    Gee, Pam, I sure would like to know just HOW they would go about preventing bc.  Why don't they tell us how you do that? Surprised

    I received a response from one of the fabric places that I sent an email to about knocking off the pink.  Here's their response (bearing in mind this is a small business):

    ********************************************************

    Dear Customer,

    Thank you for your email. To forward your comments to the appropriate department we will need your full name, address, and phone number.

    Please let me know if you have any further questions.

    Thank You

    **************************************************************

    BTW, I love both the "Pinkwashing for Profit Month" slogan and the "Breast Cancer is a Disease, not a Marketing Opportunity" one.   Must figure out a way to use those in the field.

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  • artsee
    artsee Member Posts: 1,576
    edited October 2008

    Hidee-ho.....I was asked my a local gift shop to design a ' pink ribbon ' ornament for a local BC fund raiser. I have completed 72 pink hand painted ornaments for the event and I am EXHAUSTED. I don't want to see pink for a long time. On the other hand, 5 dollars of every ornament sold will be donated to local BC patients. That is GOOD.!

    Now....I just returned from Target and if I didn't see a complete set of cook wear in PINK.

    I almost 'Barfed' on the spot. It would not of been pretty!

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  • GramE
    GramE Member Posts: 5,056
    edited October 2008

    Good for you Bonnie.   I destroyed a pink Tic Tac display at Giant (grocery store) - rammed my shopping cart into it and tic tacs went spilling ALL over the place.   "Oops" is all I said and kept shopping with my "Breast Cancer is a disease, NOT a marketing opportunity" stickers in hand.  A couple got stuck on the shelf with Total cereal touting a pink ribbon (I think it was Total), on the shelf with Hershey's PINK kisses in the candy aisle, and - dang chemo brain, couple of other products with pink ribbons.   

    Then I stopped at the 7-11 for a coffee and there were a dozen pink ribbon magnets on display.  Out came  the stickers and  on the magnets ended up on the floor...

    AND, my "forget about the ribbons" t shirt  was waiting when I got home...    

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  • yellowrose
    yellowrose Member Posts: 886
    edited April 2009

    Can't escape this anywhere.  Do you want to "pink up" your office????  Argh!  At least they are up front with the how much and where to info.

    Those stickers sound so good, I'm thinking that I will be getting busy on my printer this weekend.  I'm so klutzy that if I started knocking stuff over, I'd wind up on the floor with it but the temptation to take out a display...

    OUTFIT YOUR OFFICE IN PINK - Through December 26, 2008, OfficeMax(R) will donate 5% of sales of qualifying Think Pink office supply products with a guaranteed minimum donation of $50K to City of Hope for all OfficeMax(R) Think Pink promotions through 2008.** - SHOP NOW

    THINK PINK, Support Breast Cancer Awareness Month

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  • dreamer51
    dreamer51 Member Posts: 35
    edited October 2008

    Pittsburgh decided to dye all the fountains pink for the entire month of October. YIKES!

    CANCER AWARENESS: THINK PINK Rebecca Droke/Post-Gazette Sharon Damato, of Hampton, circles the Point State Park fountain. The fountain was made pink to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

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  • otter
    otter Member Posts: 6,099
    edited October 2008

    Well, I went grocery shopping at Winn-Dixie this afternoon:

    Pink Cheerios boxes and pink containers of Pillsbury "Grands" biscuits, both with THE RIBBON and this printed on the label:  "$2 million is being donated this year by General Mills to Susan G. Komen for the Cure", plus this note:  "Find hope at www.Pinktogether.com".    WTF is Pinktogether, and why would I find hope there?

    Bright pink Folger's coffee containers, with THE RIBBON and this on the label:  "Early detection saves lives."   That's it--nothing about donations or contributions or charitable organizations or research.  Just a statement that reminded me of the last time I opened a fortune cookie after dinner at a Chinese restaurant.

    Pink boxes of many different varieties of Mueller's pasta, with THE RIBBON and this on the label:  "Mueller's supports Susan G. Komen for the Cure with a $150,000 donation in 2008."  I needed some spaghetti, so I spent extra time hunting through the shelves for a regular-colored box without the SGK statement.

    As mentioned by others, a pink plastic container of Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese (the spreadable kind), with THE RIBBON and this on the label:  "Help us fight breast cancer--Help Kraft donate $250,000 or more in 2008 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.  See how at poseforthecure.org."   So, those big boys at Kraft can't manage to do that without my help?

    Many, many other products in regular containers (no ribbon, no pink label), but with a bright pink shelf price tag that had THE RIBBON and this statement:  "Touching lives for a better tomorrow."

    Sure, SGK is generating some revenue with this kind of "partnering", but what bothered me was the clear use of the pink color, the BC ribbon, and the warm, fuzzy words, just to get me to buy the product.  None of the pink containers or the pink shelf tags I saw today said anything about my purchase of the product resulting in a donation to a BC charity or BC research.  It was pure exploitation, and I didn't have my camera along to document it.

    otter 

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  • dreamer51
    dreamer51 Member Posts: 35
    edited October 2008

    Otter, all this pink crap makes me sick. I don't want to go into a grocery store. I wish I could be like Flyrzfan and just start knocking over displays !!

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  • smithlme
    smithlme Member Posts: 1,322
    edited October 2008

    Some grocery stores deliver...could be a way to stay out of the grocery stores?! And it's only October 1st!

    Linda

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited October 2008

    Bonnie........heehee....LMAO......you go girl......wish I coulda seen it, too funny.

    I went to do some banking today and walked into the biggest pink "piggy" bank.....everything was PINK!....GAK! I felt nausea and almost had a moment of pure insanity wanting to rip my shirt off and yell.........HEY! Here is breast cancer! Maybe I should have offered to be their breastless mascott????? Sheesh........a whole month!

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited October 2008

    Otter, where do you find all this stuff???? It looks worse than valentines day for petes sake! Just a big marketing money grab!

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  • drcrisc
    drcrisc Member Posts: 836
    edited October 2008

    Besides hearing a gazillion times that this was "Breast Cancer Awareness Month" (do we really need a whole month?!), I did hear one good thing on the Today show.  Dr. Susan Love was promoting her "Pink Army" (o.k., I know it's PINK) but to actually participate in research.  She has set up a website for women to register on if they want to participate in breast cancer research.  This is not about clinical trials.  It's about finding the cause and then really finding the cure.  They actually need women who have not had breast cancer to sign up and donate blood or urnine or whatever to help figure out what causes it genetically.  I'm sure there's more about it on the Today show website.  Haven't checked it out yet though.

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  • GramE
    GramE Member Posts: 5,056
    edited October 2008

    ACCCCCKKKKKKKK:   comcast had joined the pink parade.....

     http://www.comcast.net/news/health/pinkribbon/ 

    Off to tx # 12 and carrying stickers in my purse.   Bonnie, I have a few extra stickers for you and the tater chip display. 

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  • KristyAnn
    KristyAnn Member Posts: 793
    edited October 2008

    I can see an army of bald women all meeting at Walmart and simultaneously knocking over every pink display in the store....then moving on to the next Walmart.

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  • abbadoodles
    abbadoodles Member Posts: 2,618
    edited October 2008

    Ladies, I am appropriating the "Breast cancer is a disease....." slogan as my signature line for this month.  Am thinking of how to print it up for use "in the field."

    If these companies were not using bc pink as a marketing ploy, prove it by stopping trying to entice us to buy THEIR product instead of the competitor's and just donating the money to bc research.  They are allowed to print that.  And where it has been donated.  If we feel kindly towards them because of such, then we can buy their product.  That is, unless we prefer the competitor's!

    If we want to donate to bc research we can do so on our own.  Do we have a list of favorite charities? 

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  • NancyD
    NancyD Member Posts: 3,562
    edited October 2008

    Here's one thing I actually found worthy. More than 50% of the sale price (it's online for $17) will be donated to BCRF:

    Betsy Baby

     

    Eyeshadow Duo - Betsy Baby
    What it is:
    A limited-edition duo eyeshadow that donates a portion of proceeds to breast cancer research.

    What it does:
    Too Faced's brand founder, Jerrod Blandino, created Betsy Baby for one of his closest friends, Sephora's Betsy Olum. In 2007, the Sr. Vice President of Marketing was diagnosed with breast cancer. During Betsy's trying time, Jerrod was one of her top supporters. And, during one of their many heart-to-heart chats, Betsy jokingly asked if Jerrod would bring back her favorite discontinued Too Faced shadow, Heiress. Jerrod happily obliged, and worked with Betsy to develop the perfect highlighting-accent color. Now a fierce duo (just like Jerrod and Betsy), it's been renamed Betsy Baby in honor of her battle and triumph over breast cancer.

    Jerrod has committed to donating $3 per sale of this limited-edition shadow to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF). In return, Betsy has personally committed to the same donation, as has Sephora and $9 per sale of Betsy Baby will be directed to BCRF!


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  • Sociologist
    Sociologist Member Posts: 237
    edited October 2008

    This stuff is hysterical! Hey BethNY I'm with you...If another person asks if I want to donate to bc research I'm yelling I ALREADY DID!!! SEE and lift up my shirt to flash them! I miss the giraffe too! Have a good one!

    Margaret

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  • ellenoire
    ellenoire Member Posts: 674
    edited October 2008

    umm, do taxpayers pay for the Pink water in the fountains???

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  • cmb35
    cmb35 Member Posts: 1,106
    edited October 2008

    The giraffe was hilarious (followed by the darts, a close second in my opinion!)

    I love poking fun at some of the more ridiculous items, but if I think about it too much, I start going down the path of "society today" and how making a buck is the most important thing to so many people. It's depressing. Think about how companies are slapping big, "NO TRANS FATS!" on products that contain enough salt, sugar or whatever. Playing on people's fears or sympathies to make money. I guess it's a strategy as old as time, but I have a hard time understanding it. (Of course, I also have a hard time understanding how people lie, cheat on their spouses, mistreat their kids, etc., etc. - feel free to call me naive! LOL)

    How the hell do you spell naive anyway? That does not look right!

    Here's some "personal pink" that is meaningful to me - my 12 year old son and a bunch of his friends all got pink bands on their braces to show their support for me as we do the Making Strides walk this Sunday. (Let's hope the orthodontist doesn't figure it out and start marketing it!)

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  • Bugs
    Bugs Member Posts: 1,719
    edited October 2008

    I'm gonna defend General Mills here...even if they are using pink.  Two million is alot of money to donate in one year.  I think that's great!  Better than a poke in the eye.

    Bugs (who still wouldn't buy pink cheerios)

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