June/July 1998

Naked in New York

Are the marketing tactics of this
one-woman show too much to bare?

By LAMBETH HOCHWALD

When breast cancer survivor Liza Vann, set out to advertise her one-woman show this spring, posing topless seemed natural. Not only would a centerfold-quality photo catch readers' eyes, it would show breast cancer survivors that they may not have to sacrifice their breasts. Since Vann's are model-perfect after a 1992 lumpectomy, her body illustrates that mastectomies are not always the only solution.

Things got a little complicated, however, when Vann approached New York magazine with the ad concept. Vann said that in January she proposed that the weekly run a fold-over ad for her show, "The Top of the Bottom Half." She suggested that the flap cover her torso with a copy that read, "If you want to know what breast cancer looks like, lift this page." The ad, paid for with funds from the show's budget, would also include the promise: "No reconstruction, no retouching, no nonsense."

Two weeks later, her ad was rejected. Vann finds this reaction all too common in her quest to talk about the aesthetics of breast cancer- people often think the disease leaves women with disfigured bodies. Nathaniel Brown, a New York spokesperson, said there was nothing political about the running (or not-running) of her $20,000-plus full-page ad. "The ad seemed like a publicity gimmick," Brown said. "The fact that we couldn't run the ad was a procedural issue, nothing more. All she sent in was a topless publicity photo without copy. She turned this into a big political issue."

But two alternative city weeklies ran a scaled-down version of the ad without hesitation. Kathy Thornton, vice president of sales and marketing at The Village Voice, said that she didn't give the ad a second thought.

"It never occurred to me that I had a huge decision to make," she said. "A sales rep in our theater category told me there was an ad coming in with nudity. Breast cancer needs more attention and we'll do anything to help disseminate more information."

Time Out New York Publisher Alison Tocci also felt strongly about running the ad. "It is shocking to see a full page ad with a nude woman, but a naked body isn't scary. What's scary are today's breast cancer statistics."

Vann's show (which is currently on a national tour) takes a global view of her life, devoting only a small part to cancer. She spends more time comically touching on her experiences growing up with 11 siblings in the South, and giving Deepak Chopra-esque advice about the choices we make through life, whether we're healthy or not.

But, at the end of the show, she admits one of her goals is to dispel some myths about the disease, both on stage and off. "I directed my surgeon where to do the cut," Vann said. "Women are stunned to hear that, because we often separate the fact that the exterior is connected to the interior. I wanted to approach breast cancer from an aesthetic point of view and keep my eye down the road to what my life would be like after this was over."

That's why the ad was so important, confirmed Time Out's Tocci. "I saw the ad as an opportunity to accept an arts and entertainment ad that also pushed forth an important social message."

No doubt appearing topless is one of those moments Vann will never forget. Although she's a six-year survivor, she still considers herself the Joe Friday of breast cancer. "I want just the facts," she joked. "And as much attention as the ad got, it didn't matter if I didn't sell one ticket to my show so long as one woman realized that she could still be physically whole after this life-changing experience.