• by Les Luchter , Yesterday

“I would always have my mother tell me when she would go have her mammogram that they would flatten her breasts like a pancake,” recalls Jorge Tous, associate creative director of Puerto Rico-based agency Lopito, Ileana & Howie. “Then I found out that a lot of other women would make that comparison.”

Thus was born “Pancakes Against Breast Cancer,” an awareness campaign for the American Cancer Society of Puerto Rico (SACCPR) that proved such an effective fundraiser this past fall that it may be coming to the mainland in 2025, Tous reveals to Marketing Daily.

IHOP, one of over 200 restaurants that participated in the campaign, “wants to continue…and they're considering doing it on a more national level,” says Tous, who adds that the national American Cancer Society has also “been really impressed” and is looking to see “if there’s a way to implement it more nationwide.”

Having restaurants like IHOP serving pancakes from recipes “inspired by survivors who receive a mammogram early,” helped drive SACCPR fundraising totals to over $1.12 million, a 19.1% increase over the previous year’s effort.

Participating restaurants donated a share of their proceeds from pancake sales to the nonprofit.

IHOP, Tous notes, not only offered special pancakes at its restaurants but helped the cause by running outdoor and online media.

Another participant, Burger King, distributed pancakes for free to its customers on International Breast Cancer Day (Oct. 19), along with “a pamphlet with more information about the importance of mammograms,” Tous says.

Hungry Jack, a CPG pancake and waffle mix brand, ran in-store shelf hangers and outdoor ads, as well as donating mixes for various SACCPR activities.

Such activities included "Pancake Talks,” held in restaurants and other venues where chefs, doctors, and survivors shared stories while promoting early breast cancer detection.

An interactive digital platform provided not only recipes, but educational content,  audiovisual pieces, and access to cancer prevention resources

Overall, the “Pancakes Against Breast Cancer” campaign also included TV, radio, print, social media and earned media.

Breast cancer survivors were invited to share their own pancake recipes through a “My Recipe, My Story” social media activation.

Campaign videos included a teaser and individual spots highlighting specific survivors and the restaurants serving their pancakes (like this one).

Breakfast is a particularly good time for women to have conversations about breast cancer prevention, Tous says, and pancakes proved the perfect tool “to create awareness and help them battle a little bit of that fear -- of having their breasts flattened --  into something more positive.”