I have nothing against ribbon campaigns, let's get that out of the way. While many women roll their eyes at the pink ribbon used to raise money and awareness for breast cancer, I love it. And if you've read this blog before, you know I'm partial to yellow and red ribbons, too, in support of our troops (whether I roll my eyes at military policy or not) and people with HIV/AIDS.
However, what's a girl to do? I cannot decorate myself with as many ribbons as there are issues I support? How I have longed for a creative solution to yet-another-tired-ribbon campaign. And now some very as-yet-unknown to me creative people at StopHiding.org have a solution: A pink camouflage t-shirt and Singer LeAnn Rimes.
Huh, you say?
StopHiding.org is a campaign to raise awareness about psoriasis sufferers. The creators of this campaign use pink camouflage to show how this really uncomfortable and dramatically misunderstood disease torments people who have it -- particularly, in our vanity-oriented culture, children, as Rimes shares. (Read Catherine Morgan's Q&A with Rimes about trying to hide her skin as a child and the effect it had on her self esteem here.)
In a great use of animation in a video public service announcement (see below), the pink camo metaphor is used to show how this disease can inflame and recede, how it affects more people than one might think AND how Rimes, gorgeous (that matters in this campaign) and confident, strides through life despite it. If I were a little girl who couldn't attend pool parties because of this, I would love this commercial. And if I were a little mean girl who knew someone who had this disease, I might "get it" and back off.
Well done. Now the creators of this site just need to do one more thing: SELL THE DANG T-SHIRT. Because they...don't. The only place I can find another pink camo t-shirt online is in the 2007 archives on Megan's blog, A Girl Must Shop. This t was for breast cancer and, no surprise given the date, is no longer available.
Now I don't have psoriasis and I don't even like pink. But I'd buy one of these to support the cause. Hint.
Here's the video:
I'd love to know if there are any other campaigns out there on the Internet that you've found that also break free from the yet-another-tired-ribbon metaphor? Thanks.
None I've heard of however if I catch one I'll let you know.
Dorothy from grammology
grammology.com
Posted by: Dorothy Stahlnecker | July 18, 2009 at 05:55 AM
Thanks Dorothy! :)
Posted by: Lisa Stone | July 18, 2009 at 02:47 PM