MANILA, Philippines - In 1992, Evelyn Lauder, together with Alexandra Penney of Self magazine co-created the symbolic pink ribbon. That same year, Lauder distributed the pink ribbons for the first time at Estée Lauder counters in New York City to give women the courage to talk about this deadly form of cancer and raise awareness on how early detection saves lives. The well-loved Lauder worked tirelessly for over 19 years promoting breast health and raising awareness on this cause. She passed away in 2011.
To date, Estee Lauder’s breast cancer campaign has touched millions of people through its press outreach and lifesaving awareness messages. It has distributed more than 115 million pink ribbons in the counters of the Estee Lauder Companies’ brands worldwide. The campaign has spread the word of early detection and breast health through millions of bookmarks and brochures distributed globally. The symbolic pink ribbon has gone global, appearing on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Viddy on the virtual map and has illuminated numerous monuments and landmarks all over the world, from the Empire State Building to the Sydney Opera House and Tower of Pisa, to name a few.
Over the last few years in the Philippines, Estee Lauder Companies has embarked on several activities and partnered with organizations to contribute to this global cause. Last year marked the first local pink illumination of Lor Calma’s Transformation sculpture in Bonifacio Global City. The local BCA efforts for 2012 kicked off with educating women with facts on breast cancer. A three-day seminar and a free breast exam were facilitated by the Philippines Foundation for Breast Care. In October, the employees of Estee Lauder Companies joined the field force of Rustan’s in distributing pink ribbons at Rustan’s Makati and Rustan’s Shangri-La.
To celebrate the 20th year of the breast cancer awareness campaign, Estee Lauder Philippines partnered with Ayala Museum to illuminate the landmark in pink for the month of October. “Ayala Museum was the chosen landmark because it symbolizes a heritage that is deep and reflects a strong foundation for values. It is very much aligned with everything we hold dear in the Estee Lauder Companies,” says Mel Lerma, head of Estee Lauder Companies Philippines.
The launch, held at the lobby of Ayala Museum, had Bea Zobel de Ayala as the guest of honor for the evening while the formal launch for the illumination and wine toasting was led by Stores Specialists Inc. top man Anton Huang with celebrity guests Daphne Oseña Paez and Rovilson Fernandez.
As highlighted by Estee Lauder executive chairman, William P. Lauder, “I know that my mother would be overcome with appreciation as we commemorate 20 years of furthering the BCA campaign’s mission of bringing worldwide attention to the critical message of breast health and that early detection saves lives. Together, we are closer than ever to making breast cancer a disease of the past — in fact, we now know that if breast cancer is detected early and localized, 90 percent survive.”