In the fun tradition of being nowhere near done with the Susan G. Komen Foundation, I now present to you the latest in their breathtaking array of less-than-stellar choices for marketing partners. While none of these is quite as, ummm...incongruous as their partnerships with known polluters, some of them at least are as absurd as KFC's Buckets For the Cure™.
Others are just annoying, and I don't mean annoying like a store you particularly like being quoted in SGKF race promos. I mean annoying2, two great annoyances converging, sort of like a Reese's Cup of insufferable. So, what could SGKF possibly have done to become even more odious? Why, they teamed up with one of the most disingenuous media outlets this side of FOX.
And no; I don't mean FluffPo. It seems SGKF has teamed up with none other than POLITICO for their "State of Pink" registration drive in the D.C. area. Two ostensibly neutral, but actually right-wing, peas in a pod. Interestingly, I was not able to find anything about this effort at POLITICO's website, only Komen's.
Whatever level of disorganization that does or does not indicate, it leaves a great opening for contacting POLITICO about this. You can pivot from "where is the information?" to pointed remarks about POLITICO, Komen, and their relationship. Even if you choose not to send them a note directly, you can still be sure to leave lovely comments at their Komen coverage page, whenever they get around to putting it up.
But wait; that's not all! Reading the "State of Pink" webpage, one can't help but notice the list of sponsors across the top. I presume this batch is local franchises sponsoring the D.C. race, specifically, but every one of those businesses has national reach and presence: Walgreen's, Ford, Stanley Steemer, New Balance, RE/MAX, SELF, Yoplait, and American Airlines.
I left Yoplait unlinked because they don't matter, per se; their parent company, General Mills, is where it's at. So, even if you've never had a spoonful of Yoplait yourself, you still have some leverage in your pantry for to influence General Mills.
As always, be sure to remind these companies that Komen pissed people off on both sides of the debate and are, therefore, not "safe." A company simply cannot afford to be in the position of unwittingly offending half its target demographic without lifting a finger. Gently point this out to them while informing them of your decision to no longer support Komen's sponsors; the beauty of it is they have no idea which side of the issue you are on, so they can't dismiss the unavoidable truth as partisan claptrap.
I find it useful to suggest they support breast cancer groups that have wisely chosen to remain apolitical. It is really important to include comments like that; an emergent meme in this kerfuffle is the notion that Komen's suffering is Women's suffering, which could not be further from the truth. The importance of quashing that meme cannot be overstated. Please be sure to reiterate that there is no shortage of organizations working to cure breast cancer and that not supporting Komen != not supporting the cause. Underscore that point with every piece of customer feedback sent, every letter to the editor and every comment you leave at news articles.
In addition to garden-variety sponsors and partners, Komen has a stable of supersponsors, for lack of a better word. These would be sponsors like the companies under the aegis of Brinker International, the restaurant behemoth that for years served as Komen's ground central through Norm Brinker, Nancy's ex. I have no idea what the exact fiscal relationship between BI and SGKF is, but strong personal ties remain. The ties are so strong, the restaurants within Brinker International routinely host kick-off events for Komen races and provide other promotional support.
I haven't read anything about Maggiano's Little Italy or Romano's Macaroni Grill, but even without overt sponsorship, BI uses a profit percentage to support its charitable endeavors. Then there is Chili's, which, being Brinker International's flagship chain, is all up inz Komen events. So no babybackbabybackbabyback ribs for me, thanks. I'm really not sure that contacting these restaurants or BI will matter here; as I said, the personal ties run deep. But you could still have a lot of fun pointing out to them how the often fried and unquestionably processed fare served at Chili's is widely understood to pose health and even cancer risks. You would think the backlash over the KFC partnership would have driven that point home, but that presumes SGKF actually cares about what it says it does.
So I hope you will do your self, friends and family the favor of cutting those restaurants out of your life. And please join in pressuring companies to do the right thing, namely supporting breast cancer orgs who have their priorities straight. If they are loathe to disassociate from Komen because of personal attachment to the cause, you can point them to alternatives such as the Susan G. Love Foundation, Silent Spring Institute, National Breast Cancer Coalition, or even Planned Parenthood's own breast cancer fund. Helpfully suggest that they follow The Decemberists's example.
Most of all, please help spread the word.
Thanks!