Product Red is a brand licensed to partner companies such as American Express, Apple Inc., Starbucks, Converse, Motorola, Gap, Emporio Armani, Hallmark, Microsoft, and Dell. It is an initiative begun by U2 frontman Bono and Bobby Shriver of DATA to raise money for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Bobby Shriver has been announced as the CEO of Product Red, and Bono is an active public spokesperson for the brand.
Each partner company creates a product with the Product Red logo. In return for the opportunity to increase its own revenue through the Product Red products that it sells, a percentage of the profit is given to the Global Fund.
Guiding principles
Product Red states that its main principles are:
- To expand opportunities for the people in the continent of Africa.
- To respect its employees and ask its partners to do the same with their employees and the people who help make their products or deliver their services.
- To promote HIV/AIDS awareness policies and practices in the workplace.
- To see the power of a community mobilized for hope, health and progress.
- To ask its partners to uphold the same principles.
Products
Products include:
- American Express Red card.
- Gap is selling an ongoing line of merchandise including T-shirts, jackets, scarves, gloves, jewelry, bags and purses. Gap donates 50% of all Product Red profits directly to the Global Fund.
- Converse is selling a shoe made from African mud cloth.
- Giorgio Armani has announced a line of Emporio Armani products that include clothes, jewelry, perfume, and accessories.
- Motorola has announced special editions of their SLVR, KRZR and RAZR mobile phones, with a 50% profit of each purchase going to the Global Fund. It is believed that the Red RAZR was first launched with service by Sprint in November 2006, but it was actually US Cellular who first did it in Chicago, one month previous to Sprint. Bono, Penelope Cruz, Oprah and Chris Rock were some of the celebrities who attended the opening of the (RED) location in Chicago.
- The Independent newspaper is in partnership with Product Red.
- The Hotel Café tour is presented by MySpace and Product Red.
- Apple Inc. has released three generations of special edition iPod Nano and the iPod Shuffle with a Product Red theme, as well as a Red $25 iTunes Gift Card.
- NEED magazine is in partnership with Product Red.
- Hallmark has introduced greeting cards that are Product Red.
- Dell has released three computers (M1330, M1530 and XPS One) and one printer (V505 All-In-One) that are Product Red; the contract will last for 3 years as of January 2008.
- Microsoft and Dell have teamed up to offer a new Dell laptop that included a new Windows Vista SKU called Windows Vista Ultimate (Product) Red.
- Windows Vista Ultimate (Product) Red SKU included six wallpapers, two sidebar gadgets, one screen saver, and one DreamScene movie.
- Girl Skateboard Company released a two-part deck series with a (Product) Red graphic. A share of the profit goes to the charity.
- Starbucks participated during their 2008 holiday promotion. For every holiday beverage ordered, 5 cents went to Product Red.
Criticism
Product Red has been criticized for not having an impact proportional to the advertising investment, for being much less efficient than direct charitable contribution, and for having a lack of transparency with regards to the amount of money going to charity as a percentage of every purchase. Some critics argue that a retail middleman between donor and charity is unnecessary; donors should just give. Another critique is that Product Red's expansion into traditional fundraising techniques, such as art auctions, undermines its claim to be a different and more sustainable approach to raising money for AIDS. Other critics have pointed out that its emphasis on funding treatment for AIDS sufferers meant that large amounts of the money will ultimately end up with pharmaceutical companies. Many accuse the campaign of profiting by using diseases as a marketing vehicle. In the Stanford Social Innovation Review , Mark Rosenman wrote that it was an "example of the corporate world aligning its operations with its central purpose of increasing shareholder profit, except this time it is being cloaked in the patina of philanthropy."
The National Labor Committee for Worker and Human Rights criticised Product Red for its links with Gap, which was historically a target of anti-sweatshop activists, although anti-sweatshop organisation Labour Behind the Label states that Gap has "come further than many" clothing companies to counter exploitation. Gap's Product Red clothes are made in Lesotho, rather than simply for the best price in China (this goes beyond the requirements of Product Red). Labour Behind the Label criticises Product Red for not requiring more measures to protect the rights of the workers who make their products.
Old data released in 2007 by Advertising Age claims retail participants in Product Red including Gap, Motorola and Apple, Inc. have invested $100 million in advertising and raised only $18 million for The Global Fund. In July 2009, however, a (RED) blog claims to have raised over $130 million in three years. Apple donated $10 of the sale of their $149 iPod during the initial stages of the campaign, and no longer discloses how much it donates. Product Red states on their website that they donate "up to" half of their gross profits.
One spoof campaign known as BUY (LESS) mocks the consumerist bent of (RED) with its own call to "BUY (LESS) CRAP!". The BUY (LESS) campaign encourages people to forgo the premium-level products and donate directly to excellent charities that deal directly with critical humanitarian needs. The BUY (LESS) campaign boasts the slogan, "Shopping is not a solution. Buy (Less). Give More." In place of consumerism, the BUY (LESS) campaign site features a short list of recommended charities - including World Vision, Global Fast, and Habitat for Humanity. The (LESS) campaign also holds out a critical letter to (RED) CEO Bobby Shriver, posted online at http://buylesscrap.com.
Timeline
See also
- American Express Red
- Cause marketing
- The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
Notes
- ^ Global Business Coalition (2006, January 27). Ethical shopping: The Red Revolution . Retrieved January 04, 2007, from businessfightsaids.org
- ^ JoinRed.com, (RED) Guiding Principles.
- ^ JoinRed.com, Products.
- ^ a b AfriComNet, African Network for Strategic Communication in Health and Development, Costly Red Campaign Reaps Meager $18 Million , March 5, 2007.
- ^ WorldChanging.com, Building a Better (RED) , by Jonathan Greenblatt, October 31, 2006.
- ^ Philanthropyaction.com, News & Commentary: (Red) Gets a Beating , Mar 20, 2007 Archive.
- ^ Philanthropyaction.com, News & Commentary: "The Global Fund Not Seeing Red", April 29, 2008
- ^ a b MSNBC.com, Retailers tap into shoppers' do-gooder spirit , by Matthew Perrone, December 2, 2006.
- ^ Stanford Social Innovation Review, The Patina of Philanthropy by Mark Rosenman, April 11, 2007.
- ^ New York Magazine, Achtung, Bono! Activists See Red , by Geoffrey Gray Published Oct 23, 2006.
- ^ a b http://www.labourbehindthelabel.org/background/faq/content/view/73/67/
- ^ http://www.cleanupfashion.co.uk/companies/gap.php
- ^ Apple - iPod - (PRODUCT) RED
- ^ JoinRed.com, Product Red Fact Sheet. Retrieved February 26, 2006.
- ^ http://buylesscrap.com
- ^ "Emporio Armani official Press Release" (HTML, DOC) . http://www.emporioarmani.com/press/docs/servlet/getdoc?type=&year=2006&id=53&language=EN . Retrieved October 29, 2006 .
- ^ Windows Vista (Product) Red
References
- Tim Weber (2006). "Bono bets on Red to battle Aids". BBC. Retrieved February 26, 2006.
- Motorola Press Release Retrieved May 15, 2006.
- Apple Store Website
External links
- Report on the Private Sector and Product Red
Official links
- Official site
- Product Red at MySpace
- Global Fund page on Product Red
- Presentation by Product (RED)'s President US
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