BLOG: The NFL Does It Right Again
Written by: John Maroon- President Maroon PR
Football uses it's platform the right way…yet again…but confusion still reigns
First and foremost hats off to the National Football League for once again using their platform to raise money and awareness for the American Cancer Society during October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Their annual Crucial Catch Campaign was kicked off this past weekend and, as expected, they helped the fight against this dreadful disease with class and pageantry.
Football fans all over the world saw players across the league garnering pink shoes, towels, gloves and more. The national Sunday night game in Baltimore was highlighted by a powerful television scene of the crowd holding pink and white placards spelling out "Crucial Catch", country music star Martina McBride performing the National Anthem surrounded by cancer survivors and now game used items are being auctioned off by the NFL to raise money for the American Cancer Society.
Great stuff, but despite the NFL's best efforts to make it clear that ACS was the beneficiary of their good will, many still assumed that all of the hoopla was for Susan G. Komen For The Cure.
This is just one of many assumptions that if it's pink it must be Komen.
Pink is universally recognized as the color that fights breast cancer and it has become very much associated with the Komen organization. So much so that they are assuming ownership of the color and the phrase "for the cure" (I didn't know you could do that) and it has gotten a little ugly…and legal…as reported by the Wall Street Journal and others.
USA Today recently wrote an interesting piece about the behemoth that is Komen and the fact that many people are suffering from "pink fatigue". Pink is everywhere and it seems as though every product you can think of has, at least once, had a pink aspect to it and helped raise money for the Komen organization. This should all be completely positive but then egos, lawyers and a short memory get in the way.
You need to protect yourself and your intellectual property, however, sometimes it is important for a brand to revisit their roots and ask themselves why they started their organization in the first place. The awareness and money that Komen has raised is mind boggling and wonderful and they should pick their battles carefully so they don't risk damaging their strong brand.
But back to the good news. "The Shield" has done it again. The National Football League simply understands how to use the stage they have to do good. They did it on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and they did it this weekend in the fight against cancer. Bravo.
