Raise funds for cancer by increasing your risk of cancer?

What better than a high profile celebrity to raise awareness of a Cause Related Marketing partnership. So congratulations to Against Breast Cancer for getting Duncan Bannatyne, a renowned supporter of good causes, to support their relationship with Ember Inns, creating Thirsty Dragon Ale. Plus there’s support from Simon Cowell’s mother Julie, Ben Shephard and Lucy Rusedski on the website.

All you have to do to help raises funds for the charity’s research is buy a pink drink and Ember Inns donates 5p. There’s four alcoholic and two soft drinks.

Well done? Well maybe not……

This is a medical research charity trying to help the 1 in 9 women who will develop breast cancer. It seems however that they missed a session at a conference somewhere. According to Cancer Research UK, in an article in the Daily Mail …

“Studies have clearly shown that alcohol causes cancer, and breast cancer especially. Even small amounts can have an impact. Cutting back on alcohol intake is one of the best ways of reducing your risk”.

This well balanced and researched article received praise from the World Cancer Research Fund.

Ember Inns are aiming to raise £60,000 by encouraging people to drink alcohol. The more you drink the more you raise. The more you drink the more you presumably increase your risk of breast cancer (since the article says cutting back reduces your risk). Is it me or does this seem like a charity that is trying to stop breast cancer, is raising funds by encouraging people to partake in an activity that increases their risk of getting breast cancer? However I’m not an expert on breast cancer and am relying on the Daily Mail so it may well be that I’m completely wrong.
 
It’s hard to raise funds in a competitive marketplace with so many breast cancer charities chasing the pink corporate pound (Cancer Research UK, Breast Cancer Care, Breast Cancer Campaign, Breakthrough Breast Cancer, Breast Cancer Haven, & the Genesis Appeal – to name but a few) but is there possibly a time when a charity actually should be saying no to certain sources of income?
 
I am completely supportive of companies raising funds for charities and would genuinely congratulate a pub chain for wanting to do this in what is an incredibly difficult financial climate for the licensed trade. I’m just not sure that this was the best way to do it – but maybe I’m wrong? Perhaps staff fundraising and holding events might have been preferable to using the Cause Related Marketing route.
 
CLIC Sargent (another charity dealing with cancer) have a hugely successful partnership with J D Wetherspoons – but there’s no CRM.

The questions that a charity should be asking
From a celebrity point of view should you be using celebrity endorsement of a corporate partnership that could be seen as controversial? Did their supporters know of the issues? Had the charity considered the risks to the relationship with their dedicated celebrity supporters if there was public criticism? The key relationship holder should ALWAYS be aiming to protect that relationship. On a technical note had they cleared the use of the word Dragon with the BBC (which they may well have done)? The BBC is fastidious in ensuring that there is no implied endorsement of a charity or company by the corporation outside of its existing charity commitments. If the charity didn’t then there is a potential risk for their celebrity’s relationship with an employer.