Think Pink

Society of Illustrators 50th Annual of American Illustration, 2009, p46
Client: Stanford Medicine, summer 2007 Illustrator: Jody Hewgill

This illustration was commisioned to accompany an article titled Think Pink—the Hitch with Breast Cancer Marketing Pitch for the summer 2007 publication of Stanford Medicine. The illustrator states, "The article is about the misconception of the pink campaign—how women are given a false sense of protection and a feeling of being proactive by purchasing pink products, while they continue to have unhealthy lifestyles."
This illustration is brilliant. It's obvious that it's a statement about breast cancer with the clues of the headscarf in the shape of the symbolic pink breast cancer awareness ribbon and another image of the ribbon present on the pink shopping bag. Additional pink clues are lipstick shade, the cup in the bag and the overall pink saturation of the image.
The irony comes into play with the smoking cigarette between those pink lips and the hormone replacement pills, which may be linked to increased breast cancer risks. I love the extra detail of the runner drawn in the background.
Is the subject looking at her and thinking, "You go girl—I'm safe in my pink!"?
Is the runner a subliminal message to the viewer that the runner's healthy lifestyle is a better bet against this growing epidemic?
The placement of the HRT and the runner reminds me of the classic images of a devil and an angel sitting on the subject's shoulders. Maybe the HRT (the devil's advocate in this case) is winning this battle since it is given prominent visual definition and raining down upon the woman while the "angel" appears to be running away. Or is she really trying to lead?
I truly believe in the whole "Think Pink" campaign. It has been extremely successful in bring breast cancer awareness to the front line. Yes, there are always going to be those few stupid people who don't get it. This illustration is not a negative connotation of the campaign but a reminder of its importance. This subject is obviously one of those stupid people, but I bet somewhere in her mind she now knows what breast cancer is, and she more than likely occasionally checks for lumps. GO PINK!