“Red” Did It Produce A Win-Win?
03.09.07 - 04:49pm
The RED campaign, which was launched last year to fight aids in Africa was supposed to be a great way to promote the charity and help it. Apple, Gap and Motorola spent over $100 million endorsing their products proudly lined up behind the charity. Yet while their products sold well and they made a hefty profit the charity was given a paltry $18 million, not even coming close to the $100 million spent endorsing it.
This at least was Advertising Age’s point of view regarding the campaign. Bono - who launched RED has a different view.
In a series of open letters to Advertising Age’s publication, Bono has fought back angrily saying that RED was not a failure but rather diverted marketing dollars, that the companies would have spent anyway and turned that marketing into a cause, as well as educating people on the extent of the need in Africa.
