Yuvraj Singh's cancer NGO refers to breasts as 'oranges' in ad, gets slammed: 'Shameful'

The campaign also ran similar posts on Instagram with captions such as 'How well do you know your oranges?'

A breast cancer awareness campaign launched by cricketer Yuvraj Singh’s non-profit organisation, YouWeCan Foundation, has come under criticism for its messaging, which uses the word “oranges” as a metaphor for breasts. The campaign, aimed at promoting early detection of breast cancer, has drawn public ire for what many perceive as a trivialisation of a serious issue.

One of the campaign posters, shared widely online, displays a young woman holding two oranges in her hands while travelling on a bus. An elderly woman in the same image is seated nearby, holding a crate of oranges. The caption reads: “Check your oranges once a month,” a call to encourage regular self-examinations for signs of breast cancer.

A social media user with the handle "Confusedicius" criticised the campaign, sharing an image of the ad from inside a Delhi Metro coach. The user questioned the messaging, stating, “How will a country raise breast cancer awareness if we can’t even call breasts what they are. Check your oranges? Who makes these campaigns, who approves them?” The post tagged Yuvraj Singh and demanded the removal of the poster, describing it as “shameful and embarrassing.”

How will a country raise Breast Cancer Awareness is we cant even call breasts what they are. Saw this at Delhi Metro and like what the hell? Check your oranges? Who makes these campaigns, who approves them? Are we governed by such dumb people that they let this poster become pic.twitter.com/YAZ5WYSxXf

Confusedicius (@Erroristotle) October 22, 2024

The criticism extends beyond just the wording. Some have raised concerns about the effectiveness of the campaign in conveying an important health message. Dr Pragathi Gurram, a cardiologist, expressed her disappointment, commenting on one of the campaign’s social media posts, saying, “It’s hard to understand how we can genuinely raise awareness about something when we can’t even use the correct terminology.”

The campaign also ran similar posts on Instagram with captions such as “How well do you know your oranges?” and “Have you checked your oranges lately?” These messages were similarly criticised for failing to use direct language that could help normalise conversations around breast health.

"Even it is an AI image. Yuvi himself is a cancer survivor and if it is done by his org then it seems they don’t understand the gravity of the issue and how ideally it should be communicated," a user wrote.

Another user commented, "Oranges? Really? That’s how you hype up taboos."

"Why can't you call them breasts instead of oranges or something else? What message are you going to give? Embarassing advert, a third user stated. 

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Yuvraj Singh, who himself battled mediastinal seminoma, a rare form of lung cancer, in 2011, founded YouWeCan to raise awareness about various forms of cancer. The foundation has been active in early detection campaigns and providing support to cancer patients. However, despite the good intentions behind this particular campaign, many believe it fell short in its execution.

Public response has called on both YouWeCan and Delhi Metro authorities to reassess the content of the advertisements. Meanwhile no official response has been issued by Singh or the foundation.