It’s hard to do serious damage to an institution that is doing great work toward putting an end to breast cancer, one of the world’s leading reasons for women dying. But it turned out that all it took was for Susan G. Komen for the Cure to say it was going to stop sending some cash over to a fellow nonprofit focused on women’s health, Planned Parenthood.

That decision proved to be controversial, seriously damaging for the Komen name and resulted in a lot of good PR and cash donations to Planned Parenthood. Komen eventually decided to re-instate the dough for Planned Parenthood but not before lots of donors had already sworn off giving more funds to Komen.

The whole thing is now back in the news thanks to this month's release of Planned Bullyhood, a book by former Susan G. Komen for the Cure vice president for public policy Karen Handel, who resigned in the midst of the turmoil. According to the Daily Caller, her new book is receiving some “pushback from Democratic National Committee chairman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Republican strategist Karl Rove.”

Komen, of course, would like the whole thing to go away so it can go about rebuilding its brand — and continue to put the hurt on breast cancer. One effective way to fight the good fight is to partner with a brand known for its brawn: WWE, whose start wrestler John Cena is hleping promote pink and black Komen-branded gear, on sale through October's Breast Cancer Awareness Month.Continue reading...

On the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks last year, a few brands saw an opportunity to show the world that they will never forget and they’ve got good hearts so next time you want something, think of them. 

Hooters Girls smiled and informed us of their feelings. Best Buy sponsored good deeds in various cities across the land. NASCAR drivers and their fans had a moment of silence from laps 9 to 11 in Richmond, Virginia. Ten years ago, Budweiser had set a very high bar for 9/11 tie-ins. Its reverent 2002 Super Bowl commercial, which aired only once on broadcast television but has been seen more than six million times on YouTube since, certainly got the company a lot of notice at the time.

It can be risky to link your brand to a tragedy, of course. You don’t want to appear self-serving but you still want to show empathy, and for consumers to be left with the idea that what you did was a fitting tribute. And marketers hope the tribute is so fitting that consumers will remember their company’s name the next time the wallet is pulled out.Continue reading...

Major League Bseball today released a new public affairs campaign, titled Baseball Believes, featuring a pair of amusing spots starring Steve Carell, Ken Jeong & Colin Hanks re-creating "signature moments in baseball history that led fans across the nation to believe that anything was possible." (Watch the longer version below.)

According to MLB's press release, the campaign was filmed at Boston's historic Fenway Park as part of a longstanding collaboration between Major League Baseball, its 30 Clubs and Stand Up To Cancer — a non-profit initiative of the Entertainment Industry Foundation that rang the opening bell at the NYSE this morning.Continue reading...

How important is corporate citizenship? Nearly half of global consumers (46%) are willing to pay extra for products and services from companies that show a commitment to social responsibility through their campaigns and programs according to Nielsen's 2012 Global Corporate Citizenship Survey. Those respondents also prefer to work for these companies (62%) and invest in these companies (59%).

“It’s clear that corporate social responsibility efforts resonate with a specific group of consumers,” said Nic Covey, VP of Nielsen Cares, Nielsen’s global corporate social responsibility program. “Marketers need to know who those consumers are in order to maximize the social and business return of their cause marketing efforts. This understanding allows brands to engage in social impact efforts that appeal to the right consumers with the right causes and through the right channels.”

Nielsen drew on a list of 18 causes that included the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals and prominent corporate social responsibility topics.Continue reading...

Heading into the holidays, eBay today launched a new section (eBay.com/Celebrity) to promote auctions raising funds and awareness for celebrities' personal causes.

"Only eBay has the innovative technology and large portfolio of tools to combine celebrity, charity and commerce to engage consumers with the causes they care about most," said Richelle Parham, Chief Marketing Officer for eBay North America, in a statement. "We couldn't think of a better time then during the holiday season to unveil eBay Celebrity, when giving back to a good cause is always a top consideration."

The first round of charity auction items available on eBay Celebrity includes a chance to attend Brad Pitt's "A Night to Make It Right" gala at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans on March 10. Other celebs on board include Christina Aguilera, Jeff Bridges, Sienna Miller, Hayden Panettiere, Katy Perry, and Troy Polamalu. More details on the initiative in eBay's Q&A with senior manager of public relations Amanda Miller, who speareheaded the project, in the video above.

One of the most beloved demographics in America today is members of the military and their families. Every politician has at least one in his or her back pocket. Every major arena and stadium honors them. Every major city memorializes them. Every flag waves thanks to them.

Celebrating Veterans Day on November 11 is another way Americans show their thanks and respect for those who have taken part in something that the rest of us – no matter how much we saturate ourselves with films and books and conversations – can never fully understand: the everyday battles of war or, at the very least, the preparation for it.

This year, 7-Eleven is showing its love for all active, veteran and retired U.S. military personnel and their immediate families, by offering free, small Slurpee drinks between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.Continue reading...

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz isn’t running for public office but he still keeps a close eye on nationwide employment numbers and wants to help boost them. The Seattle Times reports that Starbucks, which laid off 39,000 employees over the two years ending last fall, is about to start hiring again.

By year’s end, Starbucks will have a new barista battalion, some 3,500 strong, pulling on their aprons and dealing with steam burns, the Times notes. Next year will see 200 new Starbucks added to the nearly 11,000 existing ones. Those will need to be staffed up while 1,700 other Starbucks go through job-creation remodeling.

And if that weren’t enough, Starbucks will add a fifth roasting plant, which will create more jobs. The current ones exist in Sandy Run, S.C.; Carson Valley, Nev.; York, Pa.; and Amsterdam. And the neighbors probably wake up with vim and vigor just from the smell coming out of the doors of those places. Employees surely don’t suffer from mid-afternoon drowsiness there.

It all comes as Starbucks launches its "Create Jobs for USA" campaign this week.Continue reading...

A former employee at Toronto's Whole Foods may think the place is a "faux hippy Wal-Mart," as he mentioned in his extremely nasty, mass-emailed, 2,000-word resignation letter to all of the store’s thousands of employees, but that’s not stopping the company from fostering its wholesome image and starting up a charitable organization.

The Associated Press reports that the organic grocer's newly established philanthropic arm, the Whole Kids Foundation, “aims to provide children with access to healthy foods.” The plan is to “work with schools, educators, and other organizations to help improve children's food choices,” the report adds.

With a mission to "support schools and inspire families to improve children's nutrition," the first project the foundation will engage in is to follow in the footsteps of First Lady Michelle Obama and support teaching gardens this fall, so that kids can get a better sense of the food they eat by taking part in the growing process.Continue reading...