After the incredible success of the Facebook bra color campaign, guys are now being encouraged to post the types of underwear they are using in order to spread awareness about prostate cancer. It’s not exactly a new concept. Within minutes of women posting their bra colors, many guys began posting the colors of their underwear in order to “raise awareness about testicular cancer”. It’s clear though that this was just an attempt to have some fun with the existing breast cancer campaign.
The following message was being sent out to male users over the past 24 hours:
“Some fun is going on,which is also raising awareness of Prostate Cancer Just write “briefs” , “boxers,” “jocks,” or “commando” in your status. Just the word, nothing else. It will be cool to see if this will spread Prostate cancer awareness. It will be fun to see how long it takes before people wonder why all the men describe their shorts in their status.”
We’re copying a worldwide effort started by Breast Cancer activists, who are updating their facebook status with their bra color. In the spirit of emulation being a sincere form of flattery, why not?
So will the campaign for men to post their underwear gain as much traction? Personally I think breasts always generate more buzz, however I’ve had numerous male friends post their underwear color and pattern to their status. It’s a catchy idea and it’s extremely simple. I’ve seen numerous conversations spawned as a result of a user posting only a color and a wink. Last week’s bra color campaign is ongoing and now there is a movement for men to do the same.
Following every successful vial Facebook campaign there are always loads of copycats, although most, if not all, fail to gain a similar traction as the initial campaign. For now we’ll have to wait and see if the prostate cancer (or testicular cancer) campaigns generate similar traction. Whether or not they do, having a little bit of fun to generate cancer awareness is never a bad thing!
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knowing how guys are, i hope they don't ruin it. this is a pretty important cause.
Comment by Facebook User — January 11, 2010 @ 6:47 am
Hey previous comment-leaver… way to generalize and stereotype. Women are just as bad. Thanks for offending an entire gender. Insensitivity… it's not just a male thing apparently.
Comment by MPH — January 11, 2010 @ 7:13 am
Just stumbled on your blog posting…really glad to see this boxes v brief prostate cancer awareness effort. Thanks
Comment by ProstateCancerSurviv — January 11, 2010 @ 7:54 am
Lol i don;t want to say it. but some Sexist group is going to have something pretty trashy coming up soon.. Boy, all this is amusing
Comment by Sardar Mohkim Khan — January 11, 2010 @ 9:43 am
Let's make sure we spread this WAY beyond Facebook. It's already up on The "New" Prostate Cancer InfoLink Social Network at http://prostatecancerinfolink.ning.com.
What about LinkedIn?
Comment by Mike — January 11, 2010 @ 10:27 am
This trend reeks of so much fail, I'm going to start responding "you're gay" to every guy who does it just to humorously troll.
I have no problem with people sharing their underwear colour in good fun. But to do it as an "important cause"?? Sorry, what exactly is accomplished by saying "red" (for girls) and "boxers" (for guys)? Does it teach girls how to check for lumps, and teach guys how to — err, how do you check for testicular cancer? Oh right, reading my friend's status "briefs" doesn't teach me either.
We've degraded as a society to the point where anyone can be "heroes" or "activists" by updating their Facebook status, instead of sharing information on prevention/detection, fundraising, or other activities that actually fight cancer.
With the bra campaign, it was a clear fail given that most guys posted (hilarious) inappropriate/sexist comments as response. Same thing will happen for the boxers campaign.
Comment by AngryChineseDriver — January 11, 2010 @ 3:28 pm
Oh PS. Don't tell me that someone who uses Facebook in 2010 isn't aware of the existence of breast/testicular cancer LOL.
Comment by AngryChineseDriver — January 11, 2010 @ 3:39 pm
Glad I wasn't the only one with this idea (my tweet on Saturday: http://tinyurl.com/ycpjwzr) Only one friend responded, but a few became fans of the Prostate Cancer Foundation on Facebook. (Apparently my sphere of influence is limited.) In all seriousness, this "campaign" demonstrates the importance of social media monitoring. Non-profits need to take advantage of these moments of opportunity to generate much-needed donations.
Comment by Eric Gilbertsen — January 12, 2010 @ 4:23 am
I agree with AngryChineseDriver. I'm sorry, but I really don't believe this did ANYTHING for "awareness." I'd love to find one person who didn't have a clue about breast cancer before reading some bra color. I'm a woman, and I just get so irritated by these "cutesy" breast cancer campaigns (not to mention how little attention is paid to countless other devastating ailments.)
Comment by Ally — January 12, 2010 @ 10:09 am
I totally support AngryChineseDriver. Although the cause is good, the mean is entirely irrelevant and ridiculous
Comment by Jesus — January 13, 2010 @ 3:47 am
Someone should tell AngryChineseDriver where the prostate is. What a douchebag.
Comment by AngryAmericanDriver — January 14, 2010 @ 11:07 pm