North America is awash in pink... Have you noticed?

October is the official start to Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  But did that month ever end?  May-August has the 3-Day Walk for Cancer, the Weekend to End Cancers, various golf tourneys and auctions and smaller events.

When October comes, there is the CIBC Run for the Cure, the opportunity to buy "pink music" through the Universal Music Downloads Store, and you can shop for pink lifestyle products year round through the Breast Cancer Foundation BUY PINK store.

At what point does the pink-washing dilute the message? How effective is this campaign now that every major company has a piece of the Pink Ribbon Marketing pie?  Are we any closer to curing breast cancer, making mammograms more accessible and access to affordable treatments within reach?  Or, does the pink-ness of the fall fundraising campaign just make us feel like we are accomplishing all these things.

Perhaps I am being a little cynical today, but I think the Pink Ribbon campaign has taken away the true meaning of donating to breast cancer issues.  Avon, Yoplait, CIBC, and the other major companies behind the campaign have diluted the market so much that the organizations that directly benefit from the funds have now just become another cross-promoting channel.  Is that the role that we want these organizations to take?  As a donor, my funds might be better used, not to ensure that Yoplait sells more yogurt, but that a cure for breast cancer is found or that women who live in rural parts of the country can get their mammograms in a timely fashion.