Vodacom Bulls ‘Get Your Pink On’ Campaign

• June 17, 2016

With Vodacom Super Rugby taking a break for the June Internationals, most of the Vodacom Bulls players will get a very well deserved rest. Now is a good time to look back at the game played against the Toyota Cheetahs a few weeks ago where rugby took a back seat of sorts.

According to CANSA, 1 in every 29 women in South Africa will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime and this number is set to increase by 78% by 2030. Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer that afflicts females but with early detection can be treated successfully.[/fusion_text][/one_half][fusion_text]With this in mind, the Vodacom Bulls got 100% behind creating awareness about breast cancer by using their Super Rugby game against the Cheetahs to highlight the plight faced by many South African women.  Loftus Versfeld was turned pink with their #GetYourPinkOn campaign!

So how does one make a rugby stadium pink?

The Bulls Babes were kitted out in pink outfits with pink pom-poms, pink balloons were everywhere to be seen, LED signage was coloured pink and Bulls mascot Bulletjie was looking oh so dapper in his pink kit. Another impressive aspect to the day was how title sponsor Vodacom got involved by sporting a pink logo for the duration of the game broadcast. For a brand as big as Vodacom to do that is quite astounding.

During play the most effective visual way for the Bulls to get involved was for all 23 team players to wear pink jerseys for the game. But just wearing the jerseys was not enough. Each jersey was signed by the player who wore it and auctioned off on Bid or Buy, with all proceeds going to CANSA to help them purchase a Mobile Health Clinic which helps educate the public about cancer risk as well as cancer screening and early detection programmes.

The real fun started when the 4 celebrities organised by Openfield took to the field to take part in a fun filled halftime activity. Elma Maspero, Sasha Martinengo, Mpho Maboi and Lebogang Mothibe ( aka Shugasmakx ) all agreed to get involved in the campaign. An obstacle course consisting of firstly blowing up an oversize pink balloon, putting on a pink bra unassisted, and then kicking a rugby ball for posts, was won by the team consisting of Sasha and Mpho.

Other ways used to raise money for the cause included an SMS donation drive, as well as CANSA stalls outside the stadium which ended up selling out their stock of pink bandanas, CANSA bracelets and pink hair dye.

To ensure the #GetYourPinkOn message was spread outside the confines of the stadium, sport journalists and members of the media were all given pink branded golf shirts as well as CANSA bracelets. These small gifts had the Loftus  Media Centre full of excitement and made sure the pink message was top of mind in all their reporting and writing.

The donation target set by the Bulls and CANSA for the campaign was R500 000 and once all the dust had settled, the final figure surpassed this target by over R100 000.

The collaboration between Vodacom, the Bulls and CANSA, together with the help of the celebrities on the day, ensured the #GetYourPinkOn campaign was a resounding success and raised some much needed funds to help CANSA carry on with the amazing work they do.