From a distance they looked like colourful flags; then a closer look revealed something far more arresting.
Bras in all sizes, shapes, colour and material were hanging from the Nino’s restaurant in Rosebank, Johannesburg, on Thursday. It fitted the festive mood of the day – Guinness World Records Day.
Organised by Sho-Sho-Lo-Za Marketing and the Nino’s coffee chain, an attempt will be made to create the longest bra chain in aid of breast cancer awareness.
In the process, our countrymen are also trying to bump Cyprus off the top spot in Guinness World Records. Currently, Cyprus holds the existing record on the longest bra chain, consisting of 114.782 bras, and measuring 111-kilometres.
Noelene Kotschan, Sho-Sho-Lo-Za Marketing’s managing director, said they had collected 25 000 bras, 19 000 of which arrived on Thursday from Playtex in Durban. Others came from companies and the public.
The ultimate goal is to collect 150 000 bras, and collections will run till the end of the month.
But what to do with all those bras afterwards? Kotschan smiled.
“The bras will eventually be distributed to cancer outreach stations in South Africa, and donated to women in the communities.
“A bra is also for health purposes. We appeal to South African women and men to assist in this cause,” she said. “Men get breast cancer, too.”
All monetary donations will be given to Reach for Recovery, which is a volunteer group that assists women with breast cancer.
In the background, shrieks of delight could be heard, as SuperSport presenter Arnold Geerdts auctioned off a lacy black bra donated by 5FM DJ Koula.
“The bidding starts at R1 000,” Geerdts said. He looked around, saw a hand raised from a member of ER24. “R2 000 (a hand raised from Nino’s) going once, twice, gone to Nino’s,” he said.
Former Miss SA Michelle Bruce’s bra fetched a tidy sum of R500 from ER24, while 5FM DJ Elana Afrika’s fetched R250.
Clearly enjoying the atmosphere, Lianda Joubert, the regional marketing liaison for Nino’s, spoke of the day’s success.
“It’s a wacky way of breaking the Guinness record while raising awareness of breast cancer and getting funding for a good cause.”
Bra chain creates breast cancer awareness
