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Product Red

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Product Red logo
Product Red logo

Product Red, styled as (PRODUCT)RED, is a brand which is licensed to partner companies such as American Express, Apple Inc., Converse, Motorola, Gap, Emporio Armani, Hallmark, Microsoft and Dell. It is an initiative begun by U2's frontman, Bono, and Bobby Shriver of Debt AIDS Trade in Africa (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, whilst Bono is currently an active public spokesperson for the brand.

File:Gisele Bündchen on American Express Red Campaign.jpg
Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen on American Express Red Card campaign.

Each partner company creates a product with the Product Red logo. In return for the opportunity to increase their own revenue through the Product Red products they sell, a percentage of the profit is given to the Global Fund.[1]

Guiding principles

Product Red states that its main principles are: [2]

  • To expand opportunities for the people 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 workplace policies and practices
  • To see the power of a community mobilized for hope, health and progress
  • To ask its partners to uphold the same principles

Products

File:Indie RED 2nd ed.jpg
The 2nd Product Red Special Edition, guest designed by Giorgio Armani

The (RED) Products are:[3]

  • American Express Red Card.
  • Gap is selling a line of clothing including a T-shirt made in the African country of Lesotho from African-grown cotton. There are also bracelets, necklaces, pins, and candles where 50% of the proceeds go to the 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. The Red RAZR was first launched with service by Sprint in November of 2006.
  • The Independent newspaper is in partnership with Product Red.
  • The Hotel Café tour is presented by MySpace and Product Red.
  • Apple Inc. has released two 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) that are Product Red; the contract will last for 3 years as of Jan 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 includes; 6 Wallpapers, 2 Sidebar Gadgets, 1 Screensaver and 1 DreamScene movie

Bono Guest edited Vanity Fair's Africa Issue. Proceeds from the sale of the special Vanity Fair Africa issue went to Bono's Red CampaignFile:Vanityfairbono.jpg

Criticism

Product Red has been criticized for not having an impact proportional to the advertising investment and being much less efficient than direct charitable contribution[4] and for having a lack of transparency with the regards to the amount of money going to charity as a percentage of every purchase.[5] Some critics argue that a retail middleman between donor and charity is unnecessary; donors should just give. [6] 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.[7] Many accuse campaign of profiting by using diseases as a marketing vehicle. Writing 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."[8]

Anti-sweatshop activists have criticized the project's links with Gap, which has historically been a target of anti-sweatshop activists, despite Product Red's assurance that its products are not manufactured in sweatshops.[9] Further, Product Red clothing products are always manufactured in developing countries in which sweatshop conditions are the most prevalent.

Data released by Advertising Age Magazine claims retail participants in Product (RED) including Gap, Motorola and Apple, Inc. have invested $100 million in (Red) advertising and raised only $18 million for The Global Fund.[4] (Red) states on their website that they donate "up to" half of their gross profits. [10] They have now raised over $50 million for The Global Fund, the greatest private donation to be received by the organization to date. [11]

Timeline

Launch Date Product Type Partner Product Name Description Amount donated to Global Fund (US$) MSRP (US$)
January 26 2006 Launch WEF Announcement (Product) Red initiative first announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The Global Fund identifies Rwanda as the first country to receive funding from (Product) Red.
March 1 2006 Credit Card American Express American Express Red American Express Red Card launched in the UK. Only UK residents with UK bank accounts are eligible. 1% of total spend. Up to 1.25% after spend over £5,000. No annual fee for life. Typical 16.9% APR variable.
March 15 2006 Clothing Gap Gap Red Launch party in London for the Gap line with 22 page feature in the April issue of Dazed & Confused magazine. 50% of profits from sales of (red) items
April 3 2006 Fashion accessory Giorgio Armani Emporio Armani sunglasses Metal wrap-around sunglasses (style EA 9285/S) launched worldwide. Available in green, rose, blue, smoke grey, grey and brown, all embossed with the Emporio Armani Red logo. The forked frame arms, available in shades of ruthenium, gunmetal and light gold, are superimposed on the single lenses. 40% of gross profit margin from sales of all Emporio Armani Red products directly to the Global Fund.

[12]

April 3 2006 Shoes Converse Mudcloth shoes Converse (Product Red) limited edition Mudcloth trainers, designed by Giles Deacon, are available in the UK and US. 5 - 15% of Net wholesale price Starting from $60
May 15 2006 Mobile phone Motorola Red Motorola SLVR Red Motorola SLVR L7 launches in the UK £10 & 5% of every bill $249.99
May 15 2006 Newspaper The Independent Bono edits the UK's Independent newspaper for the day, featuring a distinct red print. 50% of day's revenues.
August, 2006 Fashion watches Giorgio Armani Emporio Armani watch Giorgio Armani’s second Red product is an Emporio Armani unisex watch (style AR0537/AR0538). It features a large 43mm stainless steel case with a coin-ridged bezel, a leather strap available in black with red contrast stitching, or vice-versa, and steel rivets that secure the strap to the case. The large digital dial displays the time in oversized numerals and has calendar, chronograph and timer features with push button controls on the side of the case. The dial also features the Emporio Armani Red logo at 12 o’clock printed onto the dial’s outer ring. 40% of gross profit margin (see sunglasses) $225
September 21 2006 Newspaper The Independent The Independent printed its second (Product) Red special edition, guest-designed by Giorgio Armani. This Red edition includes articles from a host of public figures and celebrities including George Clooney, Bill Gates, Leonardo DiCaprio and Beyoncé. The newspaper's daily features section, Extra, is a 36-page magazine for the day and each paper comes with a free Kate Moss poster. All revenue from online sales will be donated to help fight AIDS in Africa. All revenue from online sales.
November 2006 Mobile phone Motorola Red Motorola RAZR Sprint PCS launches the Red Motorola RAZR in the United States $17 $259.99
January 9 2007 Stored-value card Apple Inc. iTunes (Product) Red Gift Card Gift card for purchases at Apple's iTunes online store, for movies, TV shows or music. Currently only available in the US at Apple's online store. 10% ($2.50) $25
June 2007 Magazine Vanity Fair Bono edits the issue of the magazine, title "The Africa Issue", which features a wide array of celebrities dedicated to issues in Africa (including Barack Obama, Muhammad Ali, Queen Rania Al-Abdullah, Bono, Condoleezza Rice, President George W. Bush, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Brad Pitt, Djimon Hounsou, Madonna, Maya Angelou, Chris Rock, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Iman Abdulmajid, and Don Cheadle.) on a total of twenty different covers. $5 of every subscription to Vanity Fair sold.
September 7 2007 MP3 player Apple Inc. iPod nano, iPod shuffle (Product) Red Special Edition (Product) Red is available with the 1GB iPod Shuffle, and the 8GB iPod nano, which are only available at the Apple Store, and the Apple Store website. [2] A portion shuffle $79(1GB), nano $199(8GB)
January 24 2008 Computers Dell Inc. + Microsoft Corporation XPS One, XPS 1330, XPS 1530, and AIO 948 Printer (Product) Red Special Edition; All computers include Windows Vista Ultimate (RED)[13] (Product) Red is available with the XPS One (80 dollar donation), XPS 1330 (50 dollar donation), XPS 1530 (50 dollar donation, and the AIO 948 (5 dollar donation) 80.00, 50.00, or 5.00 XPS One starting off at $1599, XPS 1330 and XPS 1530 starting at 1149 and AIO 948 starting at $99

References

  1. ^ Global Business Coalition (2006, January 27). Ethical shopping: The Red Revolution. Retrieved January 04, 2007, from businessfightsaids.org
  2. ^ JoinRed.com, (RED) Guiding Principles.
  3. ^ JoinRed.com, Products.
  4. ^ a b AfriComNet, African Network for Strateic Communication in Health and Development, Costly Red Campaign Reaps Meager $18 Million, March 5, 2007.
  5. ^ WorldChanging.com, Building a Better (RED), by Jonathan Greenblatt, October 31, 2006.
  6. ^ BeyongPhilantropy.com, News & Commentary: (Red) Gets a Beating, Mar 20, 2007 Archive.
  7. ^ MSNBC.com, Retailers tap into shoppers' do-gooder spirit, by Matthew Perrone, December 2, 2006.
  8. ^ Stanford Social Innovation Review, The Patina of Philanthropy by Mark Rosenman, April 11, 2007.
  9. ^ New York Magazine, Achtung, Bono! Activists See Red, by Geoffrey Gray Published Oct 23, 2006.
  10. ^ JoinRed.com, Product Red Fact Sheet. Retrieved February 26, 2006.
  11. ^ [1]
  12. ^ "Emporio Armani official Press Release" (HTML, DOC). {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/joinred/home.aspx

Other Sources

See also

Critiques

Alternative campaigns

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