“the money goes to prostate cancer”
Standing at a busy downtown intersection, Jauceline and her all-female team are handing out a free men’s shampoo. They give you a penny, you drop the penny in the big box, and then you get your sample. I asked, “What’s the point of the penny?” Apparently, because the shampoo has a medical ingredient, they cannot give the product away for “free” as there needs to be some type of money exchange. Interesting.
What was more interesting is that she tells me that the company then donates the accumulation of the pennies to prostate cancer! With Movember on the mind, I naturally assume this is the reason. However, she explains that in the summer the company also donated the money to prostate cancer- perhaps Prostate Cancer Canada– but not directly related to Movember. Even more interesting.
I pry into the reasoning, and Jauceline believes it is because the product is a MEN’s shampoo, so it only makes sense that it would go to a male cause. When did the prostate become the male cause? In 1997, AdWeek stated that why there has been little corporate support for prostate cancer: “If you want a man to bond with your brand, reminding him that his penis may be a ticking time bomb is not the way to go about it” (See more). Well this seems to have changed and Movember seems to be leading the charge. Prostate cancer philanthropy is something that corporations are aligning themselves with!
Jenna Jacobson 