Using Celebrities For Breast Cancer Awareness

It's not uncommon to see nonprofit organizations enlist the help of celebrities to generate buzz.  When they a cause is paired together with big names, it is often a recipe for success.  That has certainly been the case with the Los Angeles, Calif.-based Noreen Fraser Foundation's campaign for breast cancer awareness.

An article in last week's edition of The Times of Northwest Indiana highlighted how the organization has used celebrities in their recent Men For Women Now (M4WN) campaign, which provides a forum for men to support each other while helping their loved ones fight breast cancer.  The campaign has already garnered some big names in show-biz, like Russel Brand, Neil Patrick Harris, Zach Galifianakis, and Jack Black.

The campaign is notable for bringing some comic relief to a painful subject.  For example, Black appeared in an ad for M4WN to encourage women to get mammograms:

"All of us guys, dudes, and bro–imgos are getting off our lazy butts and making appointments for our beloved ladies to meet with this bad boy."

The campaign also partnered with Chicago, Ill.-based Threadless to create a t-shirt creation contest.  Artists were encouraged to submit their designs for a shirt that would raise awareness towards breast cancer using humor.  25 percent of the proceeds from the shirt, which will be sold by Threadless, would go to the Noreen Fraser Foundation in an effort to conduct more research on breast cancer.  The creator of the winning design is set to receive $750 in cash, a $250 Threadless gift card, and an iPad 2 prize pack.  Not a bad haul for a little bit of creativity.

Make sure to read the full article on M4WN on NWI.com.