"I like it on the chair next to the coffee table"

If you are a Facebook addict like myself then you would have noticed last week the numerous number of woman updating their Facebook statuses with phrases such as “I like it on the couch,” “I like it on the floor,” “I like it on the desk,” or something along the lines of that. These posts were made by woman all around the world and are purposely intended to be very ambiguous and alluding to where the individual prefers to “get it oooooon!” so to speak.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and the “I like it on” phenomenon is the latest example of cause awareness on Facebook.The word “it” in the “I like it on” refers to where woman like to place or rest their handbag. So, the meaning of status is purposefully unclear and intriguing in order to attract attention. 

A very similar concept was used last year by Facebook members when females again were posting the colour of the bra they were wearing at the time as their status update. The idea again behind the viral marketing was to create awareness of breast cancer.

Every year over half a million deaths occur worldwide due to breast cancer. Breast cancer is responsible for over 7% of all cancer related deaths on the planet.

I think it is fantastic that Facebook is being used to raise awareness for such an important issue, especially since in general, breast cancer is not a major concern for younger generations, as it seems to be more prevalent in older woman. Facebook is a great medium to use to send a message across to millions of people at once and is the perfect setting for successful viral marketing.

However, I am a little critical towards the ambiguity of their marketing. While the bra colour and “I like it on the…” have both been able to gain a lot of attention and widespread participation I feel not enough marketing was done afterwards showing the cause or who was responsible for the catch phrase phenomenon. I know myself was left in the dark for many days until I eventually caught on to what everyone was talking about. I feel many women might have updated their statuses unaware that it was for breast cancer awareness and thinking it was referring to where they liked to have sex.

In saying the above, I am still very curious to see what the marketing team for breast cancer come up with next year.