• by Les Luchter , October 30, 2024

Mention Johnson & Johnson, and fashion shows might be the last thing that come to mind.

Just don’t tell that to Zero Prostrate Cancer, the nonprofit that has been the beneficiary of tens of thousands of dollars thanks to J&J’s sponsorship of the Blue Jacket Fashion Show over the past eight years.

Founded by fashion designer Frederick Anderson and featuring a bevy of designers and celebrities walking the runway and “blue carpet,” the show has taken place each February during New York Fashion Week.

This Nov. 13, it will expand by debuting during Los Angeles Fashion Week.

But Chumi Khurana, J&J’s vice president of U.S. sales and marketing for solid tumors, tells Marketing Daily, “It’s not so much a geographical expansion, but a much more important one: expanding the patients that we help.”

Through its history, the Blue Jacket Fashion Show has had a special emphasis on raising awareness of prostate cancer and encouraging early detection among Black men, whom Khurana notes are 70% more likely to develop prostate cancer, twice as likely to die from the disease, and “probably more likely not to take action.”

Now, by going to L.A.,  “we can reach different patient populations that are also sometimes underrepresented and in need of voice: the Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities [who are] also disproportionately affected by prostate cancer, “ she says.

Nor will the demographic expansion stop there. “When we get back to New York, we also want to try to reach the LGBTQIA+ audience,” Khurana says.

Indeed, J&J has been conducting an ongoing clinical trial called Libertas, which she describes as the “first de-gendered and transgender inclusive study protocol in prostate cancer.”

Other J&J prostate cancer campaigns include sponsorship of Talk That Talk, a multiyear educational campaign featuring NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe, and Dad Genes, designed to elevate awareness of getting tested for dangerous BRCA mutations.

While all these campaigns, like the Blue Jacket Fashion Show, are unbranded, J&J does have a product [Akeega] to treat those BRCA mutations, Khurana says.

“We’ve been in the prostate cancer space for over a decade now, and we have agents like Erleada currently in the market, and additional products in the pipeline,” she adds.