Think Pink

I remember our class discussion about “thinking outside the box” when it comes to the demographics segmentation base, with the NFL’s high-profile partnership with the American Cancer Society during National Breast Cancer Awareness month as an example. Upon learning of this campaign, I felt deeply appreciative of such efforts. It seemed unconventional, effective and sincere. The presence of pink in the masculine sport was apparent yet unobtrusive. Thoughtfully engineered, “A Crucial Catch” showed all signs of a marketing success.

But was it genuine? Marketing is no stranger to “ethically ambiguous” territory, so naturally, what came to my mind was corporations being socially responsible for the sake of appearing socially responsible. This may not be the perfect analogy, but this situation reminds me of the fact that we utter “sorry” so often that the word becomes devoid of any honest meaning: there is definitely something amiss when I catch myself apologizing after I drop all my books as a result of an accidental shoulder-check from a stranger. I therefore get the sense that firms and organizations are jumping on the charitable bandwagon instead of taking action out of the goodness of their hearts. To corporate bigwigs, is this “just another marketing scheme”? Now don’t get me wrong, I am not undermining companies who actually undertake initiatives with the best intentions; on the contrary, I applaud them. But what ultimately distresses me is that it’s getting progressively difficult to tell the difference between what is true and what is false.