Estee Lauder Companies is celebrating 30 years of the Breast Cancer Campaign and the global product manufacturer’s legacy as the co-creator of the pink ribbon icon with a series of digital and illuminating campaigns.
The idea is to celebrate ELC’s continued mission to create a breast-cancer-free world and comes during Breast Cancer Awareness month this October. Over the course of its history, ELC has distributed educational materials and more than 180 million pink ribbons in support and awareness of the breast cancer community.
Evelyn H. Lauder launched The Estée Lauder Companies’ Breast Cancer Campaign and she co-created the Pink Ribbon back in 1992.
Marketing messages will be spread via social media on channels such as TikTok and Twitter— #TimeToEndBreastCancer—to foster awareness, fundraising and engagement. Some communications will reflect a new series that highlights the diversity of the community affected by breast cancer.
Plus, the campaign will continue a tradition of illuminating buildings, monuments and landmarks around the world in glowing pink lights: the Empire State Building in New York, the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Lotte World Tower in Seoul.
A large part of ELC’s social investment in women’s health, the company’s Charitable Foundation announced a $15 million donation to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) over the next five years.
Other elements of the 2022 campaign include ELC employee support to more than 60 organizations around the world. Plus, each of ELC’s 16 brands will donate to either BCRF or other local cancer organizations.
Beyond medical research and treatment, ELC’s campaign has put a spotlight on the conversation around breast health and early detection resulting in important conversations among physicians, cancer patients and health leaders. This work supports and spreads the word about counseling for cancer patients and their families.
Other milestones from the campaign’s history include funding medical fellowships, medical resources, treatment centers and access to mammograms for underserved populations.
“The potential impact that this BCRF initiative will have in accelerating a crucial area of research cannot be overstated, as we collectively work towards a more equitable future for all,” William Lauder, executive chairman of ELC, said in a press release. “I know my mother, Evelyn Lauder, would be so proud of the advancements we have made through research, education, access to care and our commitment to help end breast cancer.”
To date, ELC’s breast cancer campaign and foundation have raised $108 million for research, education and medical services; $86 million of that funding went directly to medical research grants through the BCRF. Created in 1993 by Evelyn Lauder, the BCRF supports research for all stages of the disease including tumor biology, lifestyle and genetics, survivorship, treatment and metastasis.