Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Launches Rebranding Campaign

The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation recently announced the launch of a more than $1 million advertising campaign to market its rebranding as Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the New York Times reports. The group last week unveiled the campaign with outdoor print advertisements and on a new Web site, 25komen.org. The campaign -- on which the group is collaborating with firms Duffy & Partners, TracyLocke and Weber Shandwick -- includes a logo redesign of the pink ribbon logo next to the words, "Susan G. Komen for the Cure" and the phrase, "We're on a mission." According to the Times, the group created the campaign to take advantage of the popularity of its fundraising events, such the Race for the Cure. Some of the new print and poster ads will feature a woman wearing a tank-style undershirt that says, "When we get our hands on breast cancer, we're going to punch it, strangle it, kick it, spit on it, choke it and pummel it 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." Another ad says, "We only focus on one thing. Or, depending on how you look at it, two." The print ads are appearing in People magazine and USA Today, and the posters will be in Atlanta; Boston; Chicago; Dallas-Fort Worth; Los Angeles; New York; Orange County in California and metropolitan Washington, D.C., the Times reports. T-shirts also will be sold as part of the campaign, featuring slogans such as, "If you're going to stare at my breasts, ... you could at least donate a dollar to save them." The campaign's Web site, which is separate from the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Web site, features an additional fundraising effort called the "Promise Ring," which sells rings in sets of two for $5 per pair. According to the Times, the campaign is "indicative of how nonprofit organizations are significantly revamping" the "tone of their messages" and the "methods they use to reach out to consumers." Chris Orzechowski, Susan G. Komen for the Cure director for brand marketing, said, "We felt like we weren't serving younger audiences and more ethnically diverse audiences." Janet Bustin, president at TracyLocke, said she thinks the rebranding will be effective because it implies that "we're so far along with fighting breast cancer, but we're not done yet" (Elliott, New York Times, 1/29).

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