Thanks a lot, Jeremy Irons (Linda)

As Sun Tzu famously wrote, known thy enemy, know thyself and you will win a thousand battles against pink crap. I know, I am paraphrasing. Point is, you know where Chris and I are coming from, but what is this enemy we are up against? Where did this little pink ribbon come from and how did it become the behemoth marketing ploy that has created this Pepto Bismal phenomenon?

I did a little research. I mean, very little. This is not my master’s thesis. I use Wikipedia as a primary source. Don’t judge me. It is a primary source in my book.

Here is a brief history of the ribbon.

It all started way back in 1979 when Penney Laingen was inspired by the old “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree” song in honor of her husband, who had been taken hostage in Iran. Many took up the yellow ribbon symbol in solidarity with Penney and ribbons popped up around trees all over the country. The ribbon faded away during the 80’s, but made a resurgence during the first Gulf War in support of our soldiers overseas.

The lapel ribbon, as we know it, can be attributed to AIDS awareness. In 1991, an activist group turned the ribbon red, because it was the “color of passion”, looped it, pinned it on the chest of Jeremy Irons during the Tony awards and BAM! The Ribbon Age had arrived.

Overnight every cause had a color and a ribbon. As soon as 1992, The New York Times had declared it the Year of the Ribbon.

Within months, Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation tossed their pink visors that they had been passing out at their Race for the Cure events and began handing out pink ribbons to race participants.

It gained its first huge recognition when it was used as the symbol on SELF magazines 1992 Breast Cancer Awareness issue. The magazine had partnered with Estee Lauder and 1.5 million ribbons were handed out at makeup counters all over America, along with laminated breast self-exam cards. The pink ribbon had arrived.

After that, the history of the ribbon takes on a very global dominance kind of vibe. I will get into the business aspect of the ribbon later. My brain hurts.