AAA’s Cancer Insurance Mailing–Ironic Breast Cancer Cause Branding At Its Worst

Oh irony of misogynist ironies–I recently received the following mailing from the American Automobile Association (AAA):

It seems AAA is offering its members the opportunity to buy Mutual of Omaha Cancer Insurance.  The highly pink-ified mailing was chock full of important/scary cancer facts for women.  The one fact missing was the link between auto emissions and cancer.

Just as a reality check, I called a few male friends who are AAA members, thus far none have received any mailings about their chances of getting prostate cancer, although as the Mutual of Omaha site notes, men are more likely than women to get cancer.  In other words, this offer is simply another cynical marketing ploy that capitalizes on breast cancer for corporate branding.  While AAA provides many helpful services such as roadside assistance and travel planning, this shameful cause marketing campaign should give women members pause.

And while we’re on the subject of ironic cause branding, we applaud Mary Kay Inc. for its efforts to end teen dating violence.  However, if they were truly concerned about the health and well-being of teens as well as older women, they would make their products free of harmful and cancer-causing chemicals.  As Breast Cancer Action points out,

Mary Kay, whose web site proclaims that the company’s charitable foundation is ”committed to eliminating cancers affecting women,” does not make it easy for consumers to find out if its products contain potentially harmful ingredients. It’s extremely difficult for a consumer to identify what is in Mary Kay products: the cosmetics are not available in stores, their product descriptions on the web site do not list ingredients, and repeated attempts to get information about product content from a sales representative were unsuccessful.

After BCA began this project, Mary Kay representatives contacted us to let us know about an ingredient guide that is available on request. Call 1-800-MARYKAY for more information. Also, a concerned consumer sent us a web link to their product, which is housed on a part of their web site restricted to Mary Kay sellers only. The web link has since been made inactive, and the public and consumer part of their web site does not list this product guide. Lastly, in 2004, BCA co-sponsored important California legislation (AB 2012) regarding the public’s right to know about carcinogenic and reproductive toxins in cosmetics and personal care products. Mary Kay was a vocal opponent of the bill.