In January 2010, anyone with a Facebook account may have noticed their female friends posting cryptic status updates mentioning a single color. Those not in the know may have merely scratched their head in confusion, but for those who received a particular message, the mission was loud and clear -- post your bra color in your status update for breast cancer awareness.
Concept
The idea behind the message and the wave of status updates that followed was to create a subtle awareness campaign. The message was sent only to female Facebook users, with the instruction to pass it on to their female friends. By having women post their bra colors, the intent was to subtly raise awareness for breast cancer. By being passed through a social network over the Internet, the campaign gained viral status, especially as the number of posts containing only colors seemed to explode.
The Original Message
The message was originally sent to women, who -- if they participated -- would presumably pass it on to their female friends. An approximate version of the message, posted by Lindsey Weber of Urlesque and substantiated by Shereen Meraji of NPR, is as follows: "Something fun is going on. Write the color of your bra in your status. Just the color, nothing else. And send this on to ONLY women, no men. It will be neat to see if this will spread the wings of cancer awareness. It will be fun to see how long it takes before the men wonder why the women have a color in their status."
Impact
According to several major news outlets, including the Washington Post and CBS News, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation saw a massive surge in subscribers to their Facebook "fan page," up from 135 members to 135,000. The organization also saw a minor bump in donations, although how much could be attributed to the campaign was debatable. The Washington Post reported that the American Cancer Society also saw a rise in interest regarding breast cancer.
Criticism
Not all the commentary on the phenomenon was positive. Shereen Meraji of NPR reported receiving the message and was critical of the movement. She questioned whether it was simply an example of "slacktivism" -- virtual activism that produces no real results -- and cited the fact that whether it was raising awareness or not, no information regarding breast cancer was being imparted, merely bra colors. Caroline McCarthy of CBS News also was skeptical of the real impact, as popularity doesn't directly translate into actual donations.
Source
As of publication, a clear source of the original messages remains elusive. The Detroit Free Press postulated that the source might have been women in the Detroit area, although no evidence has surfaced to support or deny this theory. The Washington Post also reported that both the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the American Cancer Society denied originating the viral campaign.
Tags: female friends, their female, their female friends, Washington Post, American Cancer
