Health minister cancels titillating breast cancer ads

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This article was published 13/11/2024 (298 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba’s health minister ordered Shared Health to pull a cheeky cancer awareness campaign that used slang about breasts to get its message across.

The campaign urged Manitobans to “be an early bird … check your tits, your boobies, your hooters.”

In an Oct. 17 email obtained by the Free Press, Shared Health Diagnostic Services executive assistant Kelli Kochie wrote the health minister’s office requesting the provincial health authority remove Breast Cancer Awareness Month campaign posters “immediately.”

“Please ensure this is taken care of for your clinical areas where they may be posted,” the email read.

The October “Be an Early Bird” campaign featured photos of birds, including tits and boobies, which are also slang words for breasts.

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said once they became aware of the campaign, they directed Shared Health to adjust the messaging.

“Breast cancer is a serious diagnosis and publicly funded awareness campaigns should reflect that level of seriousness. I believe it’s possible to find marketing that connects with all communities and even uses humour while being respectful of women,” the minister said in an emailed statement.

A Shared Health spokesperson said the authority was contacted by some who “felt the campaign missed the mark.”

The spokesperson did not respond to questions about how the campaign missed the mark.

The “early bird” campaign was only one part of the authority’s $2,000 Breast Cancer Awareness Month campaign, the spokesperson said.

On Oct. 18, Shared Health’s social media campaign was replaced with a pink ribbon (the universal symbol for breast cancer) advertisement inviting the public to “learn about the 3 Bs of breast health.” The three Bs, as advertised, were “Be healthy. Be aware. Be informed.”

Last year’s Shared Health campaign read: “Don’t toy with around with your breast health” and featured animations resembling Barbie toys.

“Breast cancer is a serious diagnosis and publicly funded awareness campaigns should reflect that level of seriousness. I believe it’s possible to find marketing that connects with all communities and even uses humour while being respectful of women.”–Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara

Winnipegger Jutta Essig noticed the birded campaign material had been taken down from the windows of the Breast Health Centre at 400 Tache Ave. around Oct. 18, only two weeks into Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Essig was appalled by the campaign’s cancellation.

“I have had friends who either survived cancer or passed of cancer,” she said Wednesday. “Taking a campaign down, which a few people probably complained about, but causes death of others — I find that really almost dangerous.”

Campaigns in other parts of the world have used similar, tongue-in-cheek strategies.

Earlier this year CoppaFeel!, a UK-based charity that promotes breast cancer awareness, encouraged people to “Grab Life By The Boobs” and get screened for cancer.

In 2023, a New Zealand cancer screening software company urged residents to get scanned by wrapping public transit buses with the slogan “Get your boobies checked,” accompanied with a photo of a blue-footed booby bird.

Audra Lesosky, executive vice president of local marketing firm Show and Tell Agency (formerly McKim) said campaigns, especially health-related ones, should purposely provoke emotion.

“You don’t sell something by boring people to death,” she said, noting Show and Tell did not work on the “Be an Early Bird” project.

A broad campaign, as opposed to a provocative one, is more likely to be ignored and an agency’s goal is to illicit action in an extremely short form, Lesosky said.

“Humour is another tool advertisers harness to engage, but you do have to use those tools carefully,” she said.

Opposition health critic and MLA for Roblin Kathleen Cook said she didn’t take offence to the campaign’s language upon learning of its dismissal.

Cook said the province has a responsibility to bring awareness to breast cancer and encourage women to look at resources, self exam and schedule mammograms.

“Some people might have been offended by the choice of language and that’s something Shared Health should take into consideration, but the government should have a campaign that is effective and brings awareness,” Cook said.

One in eight Canadian women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.

Asagwara said it was important the campaign did not detract from the need for breast cancer awareness initiatives and the promotion of programs like the Breast Health Centre, which provides a range of services, including the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

In addition to its public campaign aimed at “sparking conversation and enhancing awareness of necessary steps to prevent or to identify early signs of cancer,” Shared Health shares materials developed by CancerCare Manitoba and the Canadian Cancer Society to promote breast cancer awareness, the spokesperson said.

The Canadian Cancer Society and Breast Cancer Canada did not make anyone available for an interview Wednesday.

In September, the province announced it would increase screening for breast cancer by progressively lowering the age for self-referrals from 50 to 40, including a commitment to make mammograms available for those age 45 and older by the end of 2025.

Cook says she plans to re-introduce a private member’s bill that sets a deadline of Dec. 31, 2026, for lowering the self-referral screening age to 40. The bill received second reading in October but was ultimately defeated.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca