Pink-Washing
NFL marketing using breast cancer as a tactic is bad business ethics and blatant hypocrisy. It’s bad business ethics because there is so little money actually given in relation to the hype. It’s blatant hypocrisy because the NFL cannot seem to find any consistent policy toward violence against women.
Maybe it is time to think of green or pink washing for the cynical tactics they are. Obviously, it can be argued that getting money from the NFL is better than no money at all. But is allowing a serious issue to become a corporate money maker and a pink silk veil to hide their problems really a wise decision in any long term sense?
As a marketing tool, the pink ribbon will appear on cups, on uniforms and countless varieties of merchandise. This is a formidable marketing tool. You’re telling the public that you care about a serious issue of personal relevance to them while pulling in large sums and giving very little actual money to the cause. The level of cynicism is staggering.
Is this the future of charity? If it doesn’t make a company a profit, we’re not giving any money? It is Milton Friedman to the max. We serve the shareholders first and foremost. I more reminded of William Henry Vanderbuilt’s quote, “The public be damned.”
Making money off the deaths of millions of women is cold blooded and is in no way a form of charity.
James Pilant
The NFL’s breast cancer scam sells bunk science to profit off pink clothes | Karuna Jaggar | Comment is free | theguardian.com
Pink ribbon marketing is great PR; breast cancer is good for business. Corporations use Breast Cancer Awareness Month to make money every October from pink merchandise and to make even more money in the long-term by generating customer loyalty for a supposedly do-good brand. As for the women living with and at risk of breast cancer, we supposedly benefit from all this “awareness”.
In reality, the NFL’s support of breast cancer philanthropy is outrageous, hypocritical, outdated and inaccurate. The NFL is exploiting breast cancer for its own gain and setting a pathetic example for big business: with nearly $10bn in annual revenue, they have given a mere $4.5m to breast cancer research since the pink misdirection play began.
Here is the trailer for Pink Ribbons, Inc. I think this documentary is a must watch for those more curious about the use of the pink ribbon.
Pilant's Business Ethics Blog 
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