Does anyone else dislike the Macmillan Brave the Shave campaign?

This final paragraph from Macmillan:
"We want to be very clear that in no way do we believe or imply that shaving your head for charity and losing your hair due to cancer treatment are comparable experiences. It’s not our intention in any way to compare the two experiences."

You called it BRAVE the shave. You have implied that shaving is brave. That is a comparison to those who have to brave cancer treatment. I don't know...it seems you have missed the fact that shaving one's head is as brave as cutting one's toe nails.

Chalk and cheese spring to mind.

I think a number of us would really like to speak to the team directly.

This is pretty much what we were told last year - and we don't feel our views have been taken account of at all.

Hi Judy,
That's an interesting suggestion and we're open to discussion. Could you give us some ideas as to what form you would like your feedback to take? 

Absolutely agree Rebecca, well said! Xxx

I'm sorry, Michael, because I'm not going to shoot the messenger, but I find the response from the Brave the Shave team to be highly disingenuous.

They would only have to read the backlash in this thread to understand the response to this campaign. Speaking to 770 people "who support cancer charities and who have had a loved one who had been diagnosed with cancer" is NOT the same as talking to the people like us who actually HAD cancer, and it should be OUR views that count on this one. The fact that this thread is now 22 pages long, with little or no support in evidence for this campaign, speaks volumes to me.

If "more than half of people who signed up last year did so because someone close to them has been affected and they wanted to do something to show their support", then I have one question to ask, which the Brave the Shave team at Macmillan may find embarrassing. Were all these people offered an alternative method of fundraising? because, by close reading of the entire response, it would seem not. It's a Macmillan initiative - the public didn't dream it up themselves, they are merely invited to participate.

I cannot stress more strongly the points that have come across to me in this entire thread. The part about this initiative which seems to be causing the most offence amongst the breast cancer community is the word "Brave", q.v. my earlier post above. As someone else has stated, it's a great pity that "Brave" rhymes with "Shave". It makes a great campaign slogan, but demonstrates an abysmal lack of understanding of the notion of bravery. That word is in there to make the participants feel good about themselves - not to make those who have experienced hair loss from chemo feel good. The participants are well aware that they can be seen to be doing good, which is a massive boost to their self-perception at the expense of the cancer patient. A sponsored knit-in or a fun run wouldn't really have the "look at me" factor, would it - they certainly wouldn't be able to call themselves "brave".

The Brave the Shave team state that it is not their intention to "in any way compare the two experiences", but if they believe that this will not actually be the mainstream perception amongst the public, then they are either being extremely naive, or they are dissembling. Oh, and what exactly does the phrase "as sensitive as possible" mean? that it doesn't matter if there's a certain degree of collateral damage as long as the main aim is achieved?

Finally - we are told that "Brave the Shave" participants raised £7.1m last year. Could we please be told the cost of this individual campaign? so that we can see for ourselves to what degree the team felt it was worth offending so many people for the sake of whatever the bottom line turned out to be.

Hi Michael,

If you're not willing to moderate the publicity owing to the funds raised by Brave the Shave, could you at least explicitly state the fact you 'do not wish to imply that fundraising shaves and losing hair owing to cancer treatment are comparable experiences' as a condition/proviso on the TV ad as well as all other 'Brave the Shave' promotions?

I know I come as a carer from a different cancer, (so please forgive me jumping in here) but I find the 'brave' an unfortunate word chosen. I know it rhymes etc but having seen daughter lose her hair three times, the last possibly to lose her life too,(she didn't) as a result of treatment (a good third of patients undergoing a bone marrow transplant do not survive the first month) I've found I had to switch off whenever that advert showed. 

I admire people like my good friend who have done this in the right way, realising it does in no way compare with treatment for cancer, and being filmed saying so. But for me, I think the adverts I have seen attempt to trivialise hair loss from chemo. 

I wish it could be shown in a more sympathetic manner, not the laughing and joking in the advert. And maybe Macmillan could search a rhyming dictionary to replace the word 'brave' as although it's cold, odd and is lasting for a while, I still don't think the act of shaving is brave. 

However, hugs to all who do it IN THE RIGHT SPIRIT and raise money. 

And bigger hugs to all who are affected xxx

Very well put FrancesW. xx

I simply wanted to add my voice to the discomfort at this campaign. I wholeheartedly support the intent of anyone who wishes to raise funds for any charity, but the marketing of this campaign is offensive and insensitive. If anyone I knew wanted to shave their head, I would be very upset, and try to dissuade them - why should my cancer result in others going through distress? To me it is not a show of solidarity and support. Those are shown by visiting me, checking in on me, taking me for walks, being there for me at my lowest moments.

I agree with many of the other comments that shaving your head out of choice is incomparable with watching your own identity, and confidence, go down the plughole day after day for weeks on end. And that doesn't require bravery, but truck loads of resilience, as you have no choice when you lose hair through treatment. 

Hi Michael

Not quite sure what you mean about feedback.

I was thinking more about a discussion with someone who leads on this project - or someone responsible for Macmillan care of cancer patients.

It's the juxtaposition of the purpose of Macmillan being to support people with cancer - and this campaign directly causing distress to people with cancer going through treatment that is the issue.......responses to date are totally missing this point or avoiding responding to this point and just giving us standard platitudes.