Fried Chicken For The Cure? Cause Related Marketing Fail.

Something really bothered me about the Kentucky Fried Chicken commercials touting their "Buckets For A Cure" campaign to raise money for Komen.

I'm not the only one.

This item appeared in the Washington Post, and I can't agree more. An excerpt:

"Here's a line from the National Cancer Institute's Web site:

'. . .studies have shown that an increased risk of developing colorectal, pancreatic, and breast cancer is associated with high intakes of well-done, fried, or barbequed meats.'

Beyond that, since obesity raises breast cancer risk, it's worth looking at some numbers: According to the KFC Web site, an original-recipe fried chicken breast has 320 calories, 15 grams of total fat (including 3.5 grams of saturated fat); a thigh has 220 calories, 15 grams of total fat (4 of them saturated).

So, no, I don't think that buying fried chicken by the bucket is a good way to fight breast cancer. Even the grilled-chicken option, though less caloric and fat-laden (a breast has 190 calories, 6 grams total fat and 1.5 grams saturated fat; the thigh has 150 calories, 9 grams total fat and 2.5 grams saturated fat), still fits into that 'barbequed' category noted above."

The writer goes on to say that a 10-piece bucket of chicken and sides from KFC costs about $20, so if you're interested in supporting Komen, why not just write them a check directly?

I'm a big proponent of cause related marketing when done right -- which can be done. But in this case, it's a big fail.

The watchdog group Breast Cancer Action Project and their "Think Before You Pink" Project takes it one step further:

"Make no mistake–every pink bucket purchase will do more to benefit KFC’s bottom line than it will to cure breast cancer.

The Buckets for the Cure website, cast in a particularly sickening shade of pink, notes that 'customer purchases of KFC buckets during the promotion will not directly increase the total contribution.'  In small print, of course.  They say that 50 cents from each bucket purchased will go to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, but exactly how much does KFC stand to gain from this campaign? Is it more or less than the $8.5 million that is the fundraising goal for Komen?

KFC, owned by the world’s largest restaurant company, could surely afford to donate the $8.5 million independently of the Buckets for the Cure promotion.  Instead, they have decided to use this opportunity to improve their brand and drive up sales of their products."

By raising money in the name of breast cancer research, while engaged in a partnership with a corporation that may very well be contributing to this disease, is pinkwashing in its most egregious form. We expect better from the largest grassroots breast cancer organization in the world.

The watchdog Breast Cancer Action Group takes it one step further. Their "Think Before You Pink" project takes groups to task for what they call "pinkwashing," in which companies, which may produce products that contribute to cancer, use cause related marketing to advance their bottom line. 

    Like I've written about before, it's so important to ask the write questions when it comes to supporting non-profits through purchasing products. In this case, skip the bucket.

Related Links:

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Comments

[Reid]

I think you're talking about "cause-related" marketing and asking the "right" questions.

No need to ask a question in this case. If I want fried chicken for dinner, and I can support a worthy cause at the same time, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. I shouldn't feel guilty, and no one should look down on the organization for accepting the donation.

For the majority of the American people, this isn't going to affect their opinion of the Susan G. Komen Foundation, and certainly not in a negative way.

But it does give the critics something to "write" about.