The CCFA Ad Campaign: Ain’t No Party Like A Butt Hurt Party
As usual, I’m about 3 weeks late to this party. I tend to avoid controversy while its happening, and then right when you think its over and everyone has forgotten…BAM. Here I am all, “I have an opinion and I’m sure its going to piss you off”. You all know what I’m talking about, right? The CCFA ad campaign.
I’m not going to be delicate with this one.
I don’t understand what everyone is all butt hurt about. Period. Its as simple as that. Don’t we have anything better to do than bitch about the first ever IBD awareness campaign? This all goes back to my theory and post about Invisible Awareness week. This is marketing….real marketing. Perhaps its just because I am a marketing professional but I understand this campaign. I’ve seen many people say that this trivializes IBD. People asking “Why aren’t they showing what its REALLY like to have IBD?”
Well…here’s why: Its scary.
If you want any kind of response from the masses you can’t scare them. Think about other large disease awareness campaigns, like Cancer and AIDS. Do they show you people literally dying in hospital beds? No. Why? Because its fucking scary. Commercials for St. Judes, show kids with cancer…in the hospital but happy and smiling. Laughing and hugging cuddly teddy bears. If they showed kids post their chemo treatments, when they are sick and puking their guts out do you think people would be receptive? No.
Do you think the families of those children are upset that the “real” side of cancer isn’t being shown? Hell no. They are happy to get donations to St. Jude to help them care for their children. Lets talk about those commercials that ask you to donate your money to the starving, sick kids in Africa or wherever. They give you a sob story about children that can’t afford food or clothes, and who have no parents or education. They show you sad, adorable children. Do they show you the reality? Children emaciated and literally dying in the streets? Do they show violence over limited food supplies? No. Why? Its scary.
The point of the campaign from the CCFA was to raise awareness. Every ad had the letters “IBD” on it and if nothing else its getting that term to the masses. And quite frankly, everyone pissing and moaning about it, just raised more awareness for IBD because your blog posts, and reposts of those photos just make the terms show up more in Google. Perhaps behind the scenes, they were hoping this campaign would be controversial. Controversy raises conversation, and conversation raises awareness.
Think about this campaign as a first step. It is step one to telling the world about IBD and telling our stories. You can’t scare the world or else they won’t listen, won’t donate, and won’t give a crap. I asked a few people I know who don’t have IBD what they thought about the ads, because everyone keeps saying “People will think that this disease revolves around the bathroom” (News flash: It does). Well the first person I asked, said, and I quote,” I don’t get it, so those people have IBD?”
I think we’re all a little sensitive to the whole “being tied to the toilet” thing, and as a result we think that everyone else must think that IBD is a toilet disease. That’s why I tell my story and why you should too. Talk about it…tell people what its like. Why does it seem like this is one of those “I can make fun of my sister but you can’t” things? In the IBD community we make butt/toilet jokes all the time. We do it because its funny, and because its a coping mechanism. I learned to laugh at this a long time ago…but here’s the thing. The ads don’t make me laugh. They aren’t funny. No one is making fun of us or trivializing anything. Why can we talk about our realities (being stuck in a stall) but no one else can? And if you say because people will just think its the same as IBS then I’ll drop kick you in the face because I have NO Idea how anyone can deduce that from these ads. “IBD” is written all over them, and the info on the bottom gives more info about IBD. I have no clue where the hell IBS comes into this, and I think its just another reason for people to complain about things they can’t control. Was every IBDer consulted on these ads? Nope. Should they have been? Nope. Why? Because you can’t please everyone.
Do you really think that a full account of what IBD is like can be depicted in an 8×10 printed ad? If so, make one. Hell, I’ll fund it and shop it out to ad agencies if you think you can accomplish the following:
- A non-threatening or scary account of life with IBD
- Information/stats/facts about IBD and what it can really do to your body
- Images depicting IBD in a non-offensive manner and in a way that won’t embarass patients or viewers of the ad
- Resources for those who have IBD
- Individual stories about how it affects people differently
- Information about how IBD can affect your mental state in addition to your physical state
- A list of all other ways IBD can affect your body
- Information about PICC lines, TPN, NG tubes, surgery, ostomies, and JP drains
- A list of all the side effects of the medication
Gee that sounds like an awful lot, right? This is a list that I complied from those who are complaining about these ads. I’m telling you right now, its impossible. You cannot fit all of that into a single marketing campaign. Since you can’t, does that mean we shouldn’t market IBD at all?
With all due respect…fuck no. I want people to know about my disease. I want them to know its name. I want them to know that it DOES involve a bathroom so when students in a classroom bolt out the door, their teachers don’t punish them. I want people to know that IBD can alter a life. To me…that is a good starting point and these campaign do exactly that.
The NEXT ad campaign perhaps can give more information. Yes…I said the NEXT one because I’m hoping this is the beginning of many campaigns, campaigns that will make IBD a household name and one that will no longer keep us in hiding. So that we can Escape The Stall…whatever your stall may be.
I think that the CCFA took a risk on this campaign and I think it was worth it, and if you don’t like….fund your own damn campaign or find someone to do it pro-bono. Go find your own celebrity with IBD and have them jump on board to be your spokesperson because that is what awareness takes unfortunately. You have to make your disease sexy. Right now IBD is not a designer disease…but with this campaign it can be. That sounds shitty, right? Well that’s marketing people.
I know many people feel like this campaign depicts our disease in a negative light. Whelp….get over yourself. Period. This campaign is not about you and its not about me. Why? Because it affects us all differently, so one blanket campaign is not going to tell your story or mine. Its a collective voice just telling the world that IBD exists and a lot of different kinds of people live with it.
I’m glad that they took a risk, and put these ads out there. All that I see with these ads is a chance for conversation. A chance to talk about it, share your story, and raise awareness. Whether you like the ads or not, they have done exactly that.
January 22nd, 2013 at 4:26 pm
Wel stated, Jackie. Yes, IBD is not fun, nor pretty. Especially when IBD turned into rectal cancer, you end up having an ostomy, plus the damn student resident starts shoving bandages into your already delicate vajay jay, tearing the remaining vaginal wall out which the results in reconstructive surgery a year later (after the affects of 6 months of chemo posioning and radiation burns are over). Taking the muscles from both inner thighs to create a faux vaginal canal. Honestly? Not even close to resembling the real thing! Oh yeah, the dear doctors doing the reconstructive surgery nicked the bladder resulting in more surgery to repair that. Finally they took one of my stomach muscles and wrapped it around the bladder. Now I can’t pee without using a self catheter. But I am alive and here to tell about the ugliness of IBD. So take that ugly, horrid disease. Nothing pretty about it.
January 22nd, 2013 at 4:38 pm
It’s like those Sarah McLachlan ASPCA animal cruelty commercials that are so disturbing and traumatizing you tackle who ever has the remote to change the channel. The reality of IBD is too much for normal-boweled folk. I love the awareness campaign and feel that the “stall” is also meant to represent the isolation and secrecy so often experienced with IBD.
January 22nd, 2013 at 4:40 pm
AH EXACTLY! I kid you not, I turn the channel every time. The second I hear “Arms of An Angel”, I change it or cover my eyes. Those commercials are awful.
January 22nd, 2013 at 4:42 pm
(Standing Ovation)
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I tried…I really tried to say in a few sentences what you just wrote and people continued to disagree with me. The harsher I got, the response would be, “I’m so glad we can disagree on a topic and still be friends”. So after about 3 of those experiences, I gave up. The masses had taken over and there was nothing I could do but continue to share the ad campaign.
I was waiting for you to say something…patiently waiting because I knew you’d feel the same as I did. So thank you for putting it out there, three weeks later
Fortunately, your voice is louder than mine. But I will keep working on it! I <3 you!
January 22nd, 2013 at 4:56 pm
good points. i still have the same feelings and thoughts that i did when i commented on sarah’s blog, but i can totally understand your ideas about it. I remember an ad when i was a kid that showed a little boy crying (the ileitis and colitis foundation i don’t even know if that still exists or if it morphed into ccfa) i am still butt hurt, i think they could have used a couple of different images, like one with a kid with an iv, one with the bride in the bathroom and one with a guy playing soccer or swimming! with an ostomy belt or something. same campaign, same message, more diverse imagery. i did react completely emotionally and in retrospect i believe there is a middle ground that could have reflected ibd and raised awareness without all the ads being bathroom shots.
thanks for your post, it helped me clarify my thoughts about it.
amy-jo
January 25th, 2013 at 1:06 pm
Jackie,
I have to disagree with you. The ads are stupid. All they are going to convey to “normies” is that IBD equals shitting. That’s what most think of it anyway (if they think of it at all). How do you think this is progressive or risky? This is just using the same old tropes – it doesn’t convey anything about the horror of IBD (which you addressed) but nor does it generate any sympathy. Shitting does not equal money rolling in through donations. In the litany of diseases do you think that the world is going to give a flying about people who shit a lot? I certainly wouldn’t if I wasn’t dealing with it. AIDS, cancer, CF and yes MS are much more serious that people who poop (which is all these ads allude to). So, it just reinforces the worst stereotypes about IBD and doesn’t add anything to public knowledge. IBD is not going to become a “designer disease” through these ads. If they were going to tackle the shit issue they could have done it with some humor or originality. Someone got paid a crap load of money to come up this junk? I should have dropped out of school and went into advertising like all of my ad world mates. Let’s remember the CCFA is full of people who do not have IBD – they’re managers and office people and they don’t have a clue about what it’s like to live with the disease.
January 25th, 2013 at 1:15 pm
Well, I too would have to disagree with you. There are lot of sentiments that I think you’re wrong about here. First…I don’t really want sympathy, so I’m not sad that these ads don’t give that impression. Additionally, had the ads chosen to use humor, people would be up in arms that they are “laughing at us”. There is no way to make everyone happy. The whole point of the ads is to inform people about our disease so they can learn to “give a shit” about it. And frankly, as someone who lives with MS, I can tell you that its on par with IBD in that no one knows what it is, or how it effects someone. All the problems that lie with the IBD community are awareness are there, and frankly are there in many other disease communities other than the big ones like cancer and AIDS.
So how do we change this? Awareness campaigns. Like I said, its a starting point.
Quite frankly…I think a lot of people with IBD need to accept that we do shit a lot. We do spend a lot of time in the bathroom, and it in most people, the number one symptom of IBD. If we can take away the stigma of the bathroom, and how negative it can be to talk about poop, we’ll be a lot further. I feel like these ads show a bathroom, hence bringing the hidden truth to the forefront.
Also these ads were ton pro bono. And MANY people who work for CCFA have IBD. 75% of Team Challenge managers alone live with IBD. I don’t think CCFA doesn’t everything right, and many things it doesn’t plain wrong, but they do have a lot of people in their offices living with IBD, and like everything else they do, there were focus groups about these ads. And those patients picked these ads.
And like I said…if you think you can do better. Do it. I’m happy to stop it around to agencies.
January 25th, 2013 at 1:19 pm
Just waving hello.
I’ve had Crohn’s disease for 7 years and work for CCFA.
January 25th, 2013 at 4:29 pm
I’m not interested in raising awareness about this disease. It’s great that you and others are but you are generally speaking to the afflicted and while it’s very useful it’s not the purpose of these ads. I’m not interested in fundraising for the CCFA for a long list of reasons which you might disagree with but again that’s not the point. Having said that, yeah, if I thought about it for a while I probably could do better. If I decide to do that, I’ll send you what I come up with for sure (thanks for the offer).
I think we disagree on what these ads are designed to do – you say they’re meant to inform but I disagree. I don’t have a problem with the fact that IBDers shit but it’s not the disease. If it was just shitting, hell, it would be IBS or whatever. Some of those people shit a lot too. No, it is a disease which can kill and destroy lives. I don’t think most people will give anyone a cent unless they think something is serious. This fails to inform.
Also, I do think you need sympathy in order for these things to be effective. As you said, you can’t get too graphic and turn people off but there are since we live in an age of massive info overload and that includes various charities trying to convince us that their causes are serious enough for us to care/donate/”act now” we need to engage the viewer’s emotions and not just their intellect. Most advertisers would start there.
So, I think it fails to inform and to stir up any emotions. I’m surprised you think it’s a good ad but I’m happy you feel so strongly about it. It made me think twice about the campaign.
As for the CCFA – I’d love it if your friends in the org could let us know approximately how many of their employees have IBD. I’m guessing not many and certainly not the higher ups who make these calls.
As for MS – really? I’m interested in this. Before I was forced into learning very quickly about IBD I knew something about MS – that it could land people in wheelchairs etc and so it was “serious”. I didn’t have a clue about IBD and I”m relatively well educated, read the papers etc blah blah blah.
Anyway, that’s just my two cents.
January 25th, 2013 at 4:31 pm
And by the way I don’t want sympathy either. And I don’t want to be represented by these ads. But again, that’s not the point – I think they fail at what they are supposed to and I assume attempt to do.
January 28th, 2013 at 9:18 am
First I want to thank you for having a low tone rational conversation about this. There is nothing worse than disagreeing with someone and having to get angry about it.
If you think these ads are not meant to bring awareness then what do you think the point is? Perhaps that is fundamentally where we disagree, because at the heart of all marketing is awareness. Whether its making consumers aware of a new Swiffer, or a new kind of Cancer, all marketing revolves around awareness. At the heart of the ads itself, due to the nature of marketing, they are ads for awareness of IBD. I understand that you don’t think the ads are serious enough. Trust me, I understand the severity whether it be from my own experience, or my friends who have lost their lives due to IBD and its complications. It is serious. BUT…like I’ve stated before, I don’t think it would have been a good move to start out with those hard facts. Sure they are attention getting, and shocking, but I don’t think that’s where we want to start. If the ads said “1 in 1000 people with IBD will die from complications” (this is a made up number, btw), would have that been a more effect ad in your mind?
I personally think that we need to let people know what IBD is before we tell them what it can do. We have to get them to listen before we can bombard them with cold hard facts. I think I’m frustrated that people seem to think that this ad has to have everything….why? Do we think we’ll never get another set of ads? Do we think that beyond this style of ad, IBD will never be put in front of the public again? For all of us, I hope that is not the case and I seriously doubt that it is. I truly think that this is one of many in various ads. Frankly the term “campaign” is often misunderstood but many, in that they think its a one hit wonder. A campaign is just once part of an over all movement. Again, think about this Swiffer (I have no idea why I keep thinking Swiffer). Swiffer has had MANY types of ads, different kinds of commercials, different products. If Swiffer ran the same ad over and over, people would stop listening. The CCFA ads will change and grow and be released again totally revamped and from a different angle. That is the beauty of campaigns…they are short lived.
On your other notes, I am not a huge CCFA advocate, lets make that clear. I disagree with A LOT of what they do and how they handle a vast majority of their money. I never raised a dime for them, until I did Team Challenge and that was two fold. On one hand I was selfish and wanted that experience. On the other, it raised money for Camp Oasis which I think is the best thing that CCFA does. I volunteer my time for causes I think are worthy, like camp, but not for everything.
As for MS, your experience is interesting. Before I was diagnosed I knew nothing about it. In fact, during the moment of my diagnosis I asked my doctor if it would kill me because I knew absolutely nothing. I, however, had heard of Colitis though I never knew anything of the severity of it. There are MANY MANY people in this world who know nothing about MS, or they think wheelchairs. Or worse, they think Montel Williams. MS is very similar to IBD in that, IF anyone has ever heard of it, most often they don’t actually know anything. There are many misconceptions (like, that everyone ends up in a wheelchair). And just like IBD, it effects every single patient differently, so making a blanket statement about the disease is difficult. Prescribing medication is different. So much of the concerns and conversations that happen in the IBD community, are exactly the same in the MS forums and boards. The frustration of having to explain the diseases to everyone is taxing on everyone.
So lets flip this around. There are no commercials about MS. But if there was, would it be best to show people posted up in the hospital with nurses doing everything for them, because they have lost function of their limbs? Or how about some wheel chair races? What about being hooked up to an IV at home on your couch for 5 days while they stuff you instantaneously with high dose steroids? Better yet, how about patients wearing eye patches because they’ve lost their vision. That sure would show the severity of the disease. But no, I don’t think so. I personally, do not find that effective at all, and I think it would force pity upon those with MS.
I’m not saying this ad was the best thing they could have come up with. But its a damn good start. No ad is ever going to show what life with IBD (or any other chronic illness) is truly like. Its never going to be able to show every facet, it can’t. Its impossible. But you can run campaigns that show different aspects of the disease and life with it. And I am excited to see what the next campaign holds.
January 28th, 2013 at 1:57 pm
[...] I noticed Blood, Poop & Tears had a little something to say about it too: http://www.bloodpooptears.com/the-ccfa-ad-campaign-aint-no-party-like-a-butt-hurt-party/ [...]