I. The Model of Product(Red)

A. Business model

1. Sell Product(Red) logo
2. Portion of proceeds go directly to the Global Fund
3. Fair pricing

B. Founded by Bono and Bobby Shriver, January 2006
C. Partners: Gap, American Express (UK only), Armani, Converse, Motorola, Apple, Microsoft, Hallmark, and Starbucks
D. Vanity Fair issue, June 2007
E. $110 million to Rwanda, Swaziland, Ghana, Lesotho

1. ARVS for 660,000 for one year
2. Impact on 2.5 million people

 

II. Compassionate Consumerism and Causumerism

A. "Remember, giving isn't the reason to buy a (PRODUCT)RED product. It is simply built into the product and the act of purchasing these products. In fact, we believe that some people will buy (PRODUCT)RED products without even knowing what (RED) is about or without even knowing what positive impact they've just made on the lives of those with HIV and AIDS in Africa" (from http://www.joinred.com/Learn/AboutRed/FAQs.aspx)
B. The (RED) Idea
(RED) is not a charity.
(RED) is not a cause.
(RED is not a theory.
(RED) is an ingenious idea that unites our incredible collective power as consumers with our innate urge to help others. (RED) is where virtue meets desire.
Each time you buy a (RED) product or service, at no extra cost to you, the company who makes that product will give up to fifty-percent of its profit to buy and distribute antiretroviral medicine to our brothers and sisters dying of AIDS in Africa.
Every dollar goes straight to Africa. Straight to the people who need it. Straight to keeping them alive so that they can go on taking care of their families and contribute socially and economically to their communities.
The most sought-after brands in the world have become (RED) partners. American Express, Apple, Converse, Dell, Emporio Armani, Gap, Hallmark, Microsoft and more recognize that (RED) is a business model that is right for their brands, their consumers and the world.
(RED) is an answer to an emergency. An answer that is working. Over 2.5 million people have been impacted in just two years.
Buy (RED), save lives. It's as simple as that. (RED) Desire and virtue. Together at last.
(From http://www.joinred.com/Learn/AboutRed/Idea.aspx)
C. Chris Rock ad
D. 20 months impact ad
E. Lazarus effect video
F. Utopian vision: have stuff, help people; selfish and altruistic

 

III. Criticisms of Product(RED)

A. Direct contributions would be better
B. Lack of real connections characteristic of a social movement

1. "The corporation holds a position of power, largely in the form of wealth, which allows it to make these claims regardless of legitimacy. In a sense, the brand is determining the 'choice' of the consumer within the realm of corporate hegemony. The 'voice' of the consumer is limited by what items and ideas the brand puts on the market, such that the agency of choice can only operate in a narrow sense" (Sarna-Wojcicki, 15).
2. People could be inspired to learn and do more
3. Exaggerates activism in buying a shirt or cup of coffee

C. Little consideration of political problems of consumerism

1. Conditions of production
2. Financial accountability
3. Impact calculator

D. Appearance of charity, emphasis on spectacle rather than action
E. Vague ideas of what Product(Red) does

1. Few MySpace posters mention AIDS (5.38%) or Africa (3.67%), Anderson
2. Posts mention products (21.62%) or general praise of (RED) (25.25%), Anderson
3. Some mention poverty, not AIDS

F. Representations of Africa

1. Africa = poor, violent, powerless, land of abject suffering
2. Anderson: pre-existing categories, "stock script" of "poor suffering African" (36)
3. Different AIDS prevalence rates: Swaziland (25.9%), Central African Republic (6.2%), Anderson
4. Powerful West saves suffering Africa

a. Facebook poster: "We (in the US) never hear about wealthy or average people living in Africa" (Sarna-Wojcicki, 26).
b. Jungar and Salo: "Dark continent" image "hampers rather than promotes HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment efforts on the continent" (94)
c. Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa breaks down oppositions, Product(RED) recreates them (Jungar and Salo)
d. Reminiscent of imperialist civilizing mission

G. Questions to consider (from Anderson, 47)

1. Does (RED) uphold stereotypical ideas of Africa and Africans in the minds of westerners?
2. By suggesting that we, through our purchases, can save Africans and eradicate AIDS, does (RED) yet again undermine the agency of Africans and depict the west as the great savior?
3. In portraying AIDS as a disease we can stop by shopping, does (RED) help prevent us from seeing underlying causes of the AIDS epidemic and other issues on the continent?
4. Will people grow tired of (RED)'s message and products? If so, will AIDS in Africa stop being a trendy cause, leading to a decline in funding? Or, on the other hand, will the (RED) campaign and embedded giving in general actually raise people's awareness of world issues and encourage greater civic or philanthropic participation?