Giving the cause a lift

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by NAOMI BLOCH

Drivers cruising along the Décarie won't exactly be flabbergasted at the sight of a pair of electronic breasts flashing them. Breasts, it seems, are all the marketing rage nowadays. But this particular campaign is all about "why" rather than "buy."

Two billboards along the Décarie and one on Highway 40 feature a woman's breasts bearing the existential question: "Breast cancer... why?" They're part of Breast Cancer Action Montreal's campaign for October's Breast Cancer Awareness month. "This campaign is trying to raise awareness about the causes and prevention of breast cancer," says BACM board member Susan Hertzberg.

The billboard campaign, which will run throughout October and may be extended into November, was paid for by Pattison-Québec--a donation amounting to $25,000. The five-second message appears twice in every three-minute cycle of ads.

Unlike the campaigns of most breast cancer awareness groups, BACM is focussed on the causes of cancer, rather than diagnosis or treatment. "Only 2.9 per cent of the research grants awarded in Canada are devoted to investigating environmental agents and toxic chemicals," stresses Hertzberg. BACM wants the public to pay attention to the environmental factors, from estrogen-leaking plastics to the nuclear industry, that may play a large role in causing cancer in the first place.

The group will be celebrating its 10th anniversary next April. In the mean time, they're planning workshops and public events, including co-sponsoring an English NFB screening of The Genetic Takeover on Nov. 1.

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