Product Red

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Product Red, styled as (PRODUCT)^RED, is a brand 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 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.

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]

1 Guiding principles
2 Products
3 Criticism
4 Timeline
5 See also
6 Notes
7 References
8 External links

[edit] 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

[edit] Products

The 2nd Product Red Special Edition, guest designed by Giorgio Armani

Products include:^[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) and one printer (948 ALL-IN-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 screen saver and 1 DreamScene movie
Girl Skateboard Company has released a two-part deck series with a (Product) Red graphic. a share of the profit goes to the charity.

Bono guest-edited Vanity Fair's Africa Issue. Proceeds from the sale of the special Vanity Fair Africa issue went to Bono's Red Campaign

[edit] 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] Another critique is that (RED)'s expansion into traditional fundraising techniques like art auctions undermines its claims for being a different and more sustainable approach to raising money for AIDS.^[7] 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.^[8] Many accuse the campaign of profiting by using diseases as a marketing vehicle.^[9] 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."^[10]

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.^[11]

Data released 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^[4]. 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.^[12] Product Red states on their website that they donate "up to" half of their gross profits.^[13] They have now raised over $50 million for The Global Fund, the greatest private donation to be received by the organization to date.^[14]

[edit] 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 Product 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. ^[15]
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 and 2GB iPod Shuffle, and the 8GB iPod nano, which are only available at the Apple Store, and the Apple Store website. [1]	A portion	shuffle $49(1GB), nano $199(8GB)
January 24, 2008	Computers/Operating system	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)^[16]	(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 $1,149 and AIO 948 starting at $99