Breast Cancer Foundation Apologises for ‘Offensive’ Ad That Confused Some Netizens

Controversial ads may serve to pique the public’s interest…

But it appears that not everyone’s as adept at such things as the infamous Circles.Life.

One organisation’s attempt to spread a positive message about breast cancer ended up going a little haywire…

What with a plethora of suggestive, contradictory and generally confusing terms mixed in between.

‘Offensive’ And ‘Confusing’ Breast Ad

In a Facebook post dated some five days ago (19 November 2020), local actress Pam Oei entailed a particularly interesting find on her social media page.

Apparently, two posters depicting the issue of breast cancer had piqued her interest, though it was more of a case of utter perplexment than anything else.

For one thing, the message appears to share a correlation with the ongoing pandemic, but the point is, for the most part, hidden in its own ambiguity.

And for another, it doesn’t help that the organisation behind the posters, the Breast Cancer Foundation (BCF), had slipped in some totally contradictory terms as well.

Staying home saves lives, and yet doing the exact opposite saves breasts?

Little wonder why Oei included the following accompanying message:

“I truly do not understand the message of these ads. HAH LI KONG SIMI?

“To stop the spread of breast cancer I have to examine my breasts? But breast cancer doesn’t spread that way what! Heading out WHERE saves breasts??? Aiyoh what kind of messaging is this?!?

“Can anyone break it down for me?”

You can view the full post down below:

And Netizens Were Equally Perplexed

From the looks of it, it appears that perplexity was shared across the board.

In the comments section of the post, netizens were quick to criticise the advertisements, with some wondering about the actual mastermind behind it all.

A few also failed to contain their disbelief at the posters.

For the record, it certainly appears to be genuine.

Which makes you wonder just what residents could possibly perceive when they walk past such advertorial boards.

Well, we can only assume.

Overall, the consensus seems to be clear.

The posters may have indeed piqued the interest of the public, but the message has been done in such an ambiguous manner that people have been left utterly bamboozled in regards to the true meaning of the advertisement.

Which, I’m speculating, probably isn’t something the advertorial agency would have exactly wanted to achieve in the first place.

Breast Cancer Foundation Apologises for ‘Offensive’ Ad That Confused Some Netizens

After the post went viral, it appears that the Breast Cancer Foundation itself has caught wind of the news, and was left with little choice but to intervene.

In a lengthy explanatory post which was left in Oei’s comments section, BCF clarified the true purpose behind the ads, and apologised for causing confusion or offence.

According to the organisation, they had wanted to bank on the ongoing pandemic to stir up more interest in the issue of breast cancer.

By situating Covid-19 and breast care in the same context, they wished to “intrigue” people to find out more and scan the QR code.

You can view the full statement here:

Lest you can’t read it:

Hi Pam!

Thanks for sharing our Breast Cancer Awareness Month campaign with your followers. We appreciate everyone’s honest feedback about our campaign and we’re glad there’s a conversation that brings awareness to the issue.

Let us share a little more about the campaign. This year, because of the Circuit Breaker and stay-home advisories, many women postponed their mammograms. Unfortunately, breast cancer doesn’t stop even in a pandemic. So we still need to be proactive in our fight.

Since everyone’s attention has been on Covid-19, we decided to leverage that to remind people about breast cancer – another health crisis that also needs urgent attention. The juxtaposition between Covid-19 and mammogram/breast self-examination advice is meant to intrigue people to read on and scan our QR code (located within the same media panel) to know more.

That said, we sincerely apologise for causing any confusion or offence to anyone. We’ll definitely take all your feedback into consideration for future campaigns. It’s always challenging to talk about breasts, or breast cancer awareness for that matter. But we welcome the challenge and will keep doing our best to spread this important life-saving message!

Meanwhile, we’d love to invite everyone here to join us in spreading the word. Of course, for the ladies, don’t forget to do your own breast self-examination too. You can find the step-by-step guide right here at https://www.bcf.org.sg/bse/. Thank you for raising awareness with us – your effort matters!

Team BCF

Not Intrigued, Just Confused And Irritated

The BCF may have had the public’s interest in mind, but it appears that their “garbled” way of doing it was far from being the ideal method.

In a follow-up to BCF’s clarification, Oei expressed that the organisation’s message was “garbled” and “not clear”.

She added that the ad did not serve to intrigue people, but “confused and irritated” the public instead.

As such, they were unlikely to want to scan the QR code, as BFC had originally intended for.

To back up her theory, Oei also included the opinions of 2 doctors – with one being her own gynaecologist.

Apparently, both did not exactly think well of BCF’s advertorial attempt.

Lest you can’t read:

Bcf SG Hey Team BCF! Thanks for taking the time to comment on this thread, I really appreciate it.

My mother died of breast cancer in 1999 at the young age of 54 – in fact tomorrow (20th Nov) is her 21st death anniversary – so I am no stranger to the importance of breast self-examination and mammograms. And I think the work that BCF does is important and life-saving indeed. All the more your messaging to the public to bring awareness to breast cancer should be clear and incisive.

Unfortunately, the message that BCF wanted to send out with this ad was garbled. It was not clear at all what it was trying to say and when people are confused and irritated (not intrigued) by an ad, they are not going to scan the QR code to know more (maybe also you can add a line somewhere to scan the QR code for more info). Also, realistically and gramatically, one cannot go IN and OUT of a breast during BSE, as pointed out by my best friend.

There are 2 doctors on this thread who also felt the messaging was 🤦‍♀️ One of them is my gynaecologist.

As I write, there have been 87 shares of my post, which shows that many people are as perplexed as I am at this ad.

I am glad BCF will take this thread’s feedback into consideration in future campaigns.

Thank you for the work you do, BCF.

Breast Cancer Foundation

Slip-up or not, it should be noted that breast cancer is not an issue to be trifled with.

After all, it’s undeniably a deadly disease – one that has claimed the lives of many every single year.

As such, one should not let BCF’s advertorial flaw get in the way of the message they were trying to portray.

In light of this year’s pandemic, many women have opted or been forced to delay/cancel their mammograms, due to the Circuit Breaker and imperative stay-home advisories.

However, breast cancer is a fight that does not cease even amidst a pandemic. Hence the second poster.

As for the first, it’s likely to refer to how women can check themselves for lumps.

In a nutshell, the BCF’s intended message is certainly not one to be scoffed at. But their advertorial attempt, on the other hand…

May certainly leave a little more to be desired.

Featured Image: Facebook (Breast Cancer Foundation)