Red Campaign

Marketing BADM 321

Magazine Critique

Bobby Shriver and Bono from the band U2 have put together a campaign called the RED campaign. Companies such as Apple, American Express, Motorola and Gap have been involved in this campaign. They have been raising millions of dollars to fight AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. The companies job the campaign and co-brand products with a RED tag. Like Apple, they have a RED iPod, and then Apple will give up some of it's profits to The Global Fund. There have been many celebrities involved with the RED campaign as well, such as Steven Spielberg, Christy Turlington, and Oprah Winfrey.

The main issue is that they have only raised $18 million for their cause. Some of the companies involved have spent over $100 million in marketing and $18 million is all they have to show for it. When asked about the situation Shriver said, "this marketing [money] would have been spent anyway, on other product lines. It never would have been (nor will it ever be) given to the Global Fund. We were able to divert existing marketing dollars for RED."

Only making $18 million doesn't seem that great, but either way companies would still be spending millions on marketing anyway. But if they quit the RED campaign, the awareness of Africa's problems and needs would be cut down, and people would still be buying iPods and cell phones.

Trent Stamp is the president of Chairty Navigator, which rates the spending practices of 5,000 nonprofits, says "The RED campaign can be a good start or can be a colossal waste of money, and it all depends on whether this edgy, innovative campaign inspires young people to be better citizens or just give them an ecuse to feel good about themselves while they buy overprices items they don't really need.

Julie Cordua, the VP-marketing at RED says