Ti(red) Excuse for Corporate Philanthropy
How much would it cost Apple to hire celebrities of the caliber of Oprah Winfrey and Bono to endorse its products in a commercial?
The question came to mind as I watched Bono talking to Michael Holmes about his latest philanthropic venture on CNN International. Fresh off announcing Product Red on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Bono was gushing about all the companies that had become “red” and holding up samples of their products. CNNI devoted two entire segments to the interview.
Companies like Gap, Armani, Converse and Apple are producing (red) branded merchandize and promising to donate a portion of the proceeds for each (red) product sold to the UN-backed Global Fund to purchase antiretroviral drugs for AIDS patients in Africa. Motorola even has an exclusive wireless partnership deal with the project. For every (red) handset sold, Motorola donates an undisclosed sum to the Global Fund.
Product Red has an excellent pitchman. Unlike some other stars who use their charitable activities to promote their celebrity, Bono seems genuinely interested in the issues he champions. I personally like Bono. For a rock star he seems a decent fellow, despite being afflicted with the dreadful single-name virus. Part of me wanted to be as excited about the project as he appeared to be. But something about the idea didn’t sit well with me.
I don’t doubt that Bono really cares about getting antiretroviral medicine to people who need it. But I have little hope that the newly “red” companies are motivated by altruism. But then, that’s stated clearly in red and white in the Product Red Manifesto.
“(Red) is not a charity,” the document says, “It is simply a business model.”
An unscientific survey proves it is a very profitable business model. Not long after Bono’s announcement on Oprah, my sister tells me, she went to Gap in search of their Product Red tee-shirt. They were sold out. She inquired about when the next shipment was due to arrive in store and returned on that day. She shelled out $28 for a short-sleeved, red cotton tee-shirt with “inspi(red)” printed across the front.
My sister likes to shop. But she insists she wouldn’t ordinarily spend that kind of money on a Gap tee-shirt. In fact, she couldn’t remember the last time she shopped at Gap before the (red) tee-shirt expedition.
When I relayed the story to my other sister, she told me that she herself had her eye on another Bono-linked tee-shirt. This one sports the word “one” in reference to U2’s hit song with a humanitarian message. The One Campaign combats AIDS and promotes trade in Africa.
With the holiday season upon us, conscientious Santas like my sisters are lining up to buy (red) gifts for their loved ones happy in the knowledge that they will be giving two gifts at once. Of the $200 dollars shoppers will hand over for a shiny (red) ipod, Apple donates ten bucks to the Fund.
It is ten dollars well invested.
I go back to my original question. What would a company like Apple pay for such effusive praise from the likes of Bono? The U2 frontman and fair trade campaigner was actually displaying the products on Oprah, CNN and in countless other media events. On top of the incomparable advertisement, being seen to support a worthy cause builds immeasurable goodwill for the company that extends beyond the (red) products to the entire Apple brand, all for a paltry 5 percent of the ipod’s retail price.
Still, you could argue that it’s better than companies that do nothing to redress the AIDS crisis. But is it really? Basically, the "red" companies are telling us that they know people are dying of AIDS because they lack the drugs they need to fight the disease, that they have the money to buy the drugs and that they won’t take action unless we first buy their overpriced products. The money for the drugs is coming from the consumers, and the companies are racking up sales while polishing their reputations.
Enter the calls for a boycott. Groups like Sh(red) are attacking Product Red for embracing the capitalist paradigm that leads to such inequity in the first place. Critics accuse affiliated companies of exploiting the AIDS pandemic to make a buck. They have a point. And if the goal is to raise as much money as possible to fight AIDS, I can’t see the benefit of exclusive deals like the one Motorola enjoys.
Whether they are (red), blue or black, people will continue to buy ipods. If a person wants to spend $200 on a personal music system, I’d just as soon have them buy the blood-colored one and hope that some of the money finds its way to where it’s needed. For those who are really interested in fighting AIDS and improving the world, I’d advise they bypass the middleman. Buy a (recycled) ipod from craigslist and donate the savings directly to the Global Fund or a charity of their choosing.
Bono and Oprah are blessed with wealth and cursed with conscience. They’ve made the mistake of becoming informed to a point where anyone with an ounce of empathy would be uncomfortable with his or her teeming bank account. I don’t begrudge them whatever they need to do to sleep easier at night knowing how other people live. Unfortunately, this project probably does more to boost American Express and Armani's share prices than to boost hopes of abating the ravages of AIDS in Africa.
get more information:
The Global Fund
CDC AIDS Factsheet
UNAIDS
The One Campaign
Product Red
Sh(red)
tags: Product Red, The One Campaign, Global Fund, Charity, AIDS, HIV, Bono, Africa, Sh(red), corporate philanthropy
How much would it cost Apple to hire celebrities of the caliber of Oprah Winfrey and Bono to endorse its products in a commercial?
The question came to mind as I watched Bono talking to Michael Holmes about his latest philanthropic venture on CNN International. Fresh off announcing Product Red on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Bono was gushing about all the companies that had become “red” and holding up samples of their products. CNNI devoted two entire segments to the interview.
Companies like Gap, Armani, Converse and Apple are producing (red) branded merchandize and promising to donate a portion of the proceeds for each (red) product sold to the UN-backed Global Fund to purchase antiretroviral drugs for AIDS patients in Africa. Motorola even has an exclusive wireless partnership deal with the project. For every (red) handset sold, Motorola donates an undisclosed sum to the Global Fund.
Product Red has an excellent pitchman. Unlike some other stars who use their charitable activities to promote their celebrity, Bono seems genuinely interested in the issues he champions. I personally like Bono. For a rock star he seems a decent fellow, despite being afflicted with the dreadful single-name virus. Part of me wanted to be as excited about the project as he appeared to be. But something about the idea didn’t sit well with me.
I don’t doubt that Bono really cares about getting antiretroviral medicine to people who need it. But I have little hope that the newly “red” companies are motivated by altruism. But then, that’s stated clearly in red and white in the Product Red Manifesto.
“(Red) is not a charity,” the document says, “It is simply a business model.”
An unscientific survey proves it is a very profitable business model. Not long after Bono’s announcement on Oprah, my sister tells me, she went to Gap in search of their Product Red tee-shirt. They were sold out. She inquired about when the next shipment was due to arrive in store and returned on that day. She shelled out $28 for a short-sleeved, red cotton tee-shirt with “inspi(red)” printed across the front.
My sister likes to shop. But she insists she wouldn’t ordinarily spend that kind of money on a Gap tee-shirt. In fact, she couldn’t remember the last time she shopped at Gap before the (red) tee-shirt expedition.
When I relayed the story to my other sister, she told me that she herself had her eye on another Bono-linked tee-shirt. This one sports the word “one” in reference to U2’s hit song with a humanitarian message. The One Campaign combats AIDS and promotes trade in Africa.
With the holiday season upon us, conscientious Santas like my sisters are lining up to buy (red) gifts for their loved ones happy in the knowledge that they will be giving two gifts at once. Of the $200 dollars shoppers will hand over for a shiny (red) ipod, Apple donates ten bucks to the Fund.
It is ten dollars well invested.
I go back to my original question. What would a company like Apple pay for such effusive praise from the likes of Bono? The U2 frontman and fair trade campaigner was actually displaying the products on Oprah, CNN and in countless other media events. On top of the incomparable advertisement, being seen to support a worthy cause builds immeasurable goodwill for the company that extends beyond the (red) products to the entire Apple brand, all for a paltry 5 percent of the ipod’s retail price.
Still, you could argue that it’s better than companies that do nothing to redress the AIDS crisis. But is it really? Basically, the "red" companies are telling us that they know people are dying of AIDS because they lack the drugs they need to fight the disease, that they have the money to buy the drugs and that they won’t take action unless we first buy their overpriced products. The money for the drugs is coming from the consumers, and the companies are racking up sales while polishing their reputations.
Enter the calls for a boycott. Groups like Sh(red) are attacking Product Red for embracing the capitalist paradigm that leads to such inequity in the first place. Critics accuse affiliated companies of exploiting the AIDS pandemic to make a buck. They have a point. And if the goal is to raise as much money as possible to fight AIDS, I can’t see the benefit of exclusive deals like the one Motorola enjoys.
Whether they are (red), blue or black, people will continue to buy ipods. If a person wants to spend $200 on a personal music system, I’d just as soon have them buy the blood-colored one and hope that some of the money finds its way to where it’s needed. For those who are really interested in fighting AIDS and improving the world, I’d advise they bypass the middleman. Buy a (recycled) ipod from craigslist and donate the savings directly to the Global Fund or a charity of their choosing.
Bono and Oprah are blessed with wealth and cursed with conscience. They’ve made the mistake of becoming informed to a point where anyone with an ounce of empathy would be uncomfortable with his or her teeming bank account. I don’t begrudge them whatever they need to do to sleep easier at night knowing how other people live. Unfortunately, this project probably does more to boost American Express and Armani's share prices than to boost hopes of abating the ravages of AIDS in Africa.
get more information:
tags: Product Red, The One Campaign, Global Fund, Charity, AIDS, HIV, Bono, Africa, Sh(red), corporate philanthropy
posted by citizenjane at 12:13 AM
3 Comments:
I tried to wear my (red) tee to work at Nordstrom and was asked to (red)ress. Apparently, Nordstrom is hawking the One t-shirts and so frowns upon my promotion of their competition. Funny - you'd think altruist would take the more the merrier standpoint... but no.
especially since both projects are bonofueled! crazy.
Thanks for the "buy a (recycled) ipod from craigslist and donate the savings..." Couldn't agree more. We've been working on some alternative initiatives at reinspired.blogspot.com
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