I realize that I am not the first person to think or write about this, but you have got to be kidding me, Komen Foundation. My post today is about the KFC commercial with the pink buckets.
I have been thinking about this post for a really long time and wanted to get my point out there, and then show you how other people are thinking the same thing. Let’s start at the beginning. My mom is a 12-year survivor of breast cancer, the disease that the Komen Foundation is striving to find a cure for. Throughout the last 12 years, my family has contributed to the Komen Foundation, participated in 5K’s and bought “pink” things to help donate toward the cause.
In any one of the numerous health classes I’ve taken as a student, I’ve learned about cancer. It’s all review, as I learned about it for the first time when I was 9. What a lot of research has showed is that diets that are high in fat can lead to an increased risk of breast cancer. Additionally, obese women have a higher risk of getting cancer than women in similar conditions who are of a healthy weight.
So here is my question: What were you thinking teaming up with a fast-food restaurant? As the family member of a survivor, I am unbelievably angry that you would so blatantly disregard research to collaborate with another party that could have increased the risk of cancer in multiple people. If there is research that links cancer to fat, why in the world would you team up with a place that sells FRIED chicken? I understand that there are a considerable amount of donations coming in and that KFC now sells grilled chicken, but this is possibly one of the worst decisions I’ve ever seen.
Maybe you wanted to reach the audience of people who eat KFC because they are getting the disease. But let me guarantee you that those people do other things besides eat fried chicken. Please target them another way that doesn’t endanger their health by contributing to the national obesity epidemic.
My second question is: Who thought it would be a good idea to do this? Where was the PR team? Where were the interns who do the research and provide information on why this is a bad idea?
I’m so confused by this commercial and so agitated by it that I tell everyone I know. But clearly, this is not a unique feeling. Here are a few articles I found that resound my sentiment:
Need I go on? And that’s only half of the first Google page.
In conclusion, I am appalled that the Komen Foundation would make a choice like this. I am hoping with all of my might that they had some kind of reasoning behind it, but I think it is ridiculous.
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