Bono's right on Red brand
Posted on 30 January 2006
At the World Economic Forum last week, U2 lead singer Bono announced that he has persuaded companies like Gap, Armani and American Express to produce products under a a new brand, called Red. A share of the proceeds from Red products will be donated to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Amex, for example, will produce a Red credit card giving 1% of what's spent on the card to the endeavour.Red is a way of helping people contribute private money to what is an important development initiative. Yet some ideological opponents to business have attacked the initiative. War on Want says: "Cynical marketing ploys aren't the answer. The problem with schemes like this is that they miss the point."
Eliminating malaria, TB and AIDS are some of the most pressing of humanity's problems, and the Global Fund seems a good vehicle for addressing them. The Red brand may well be good marketing, but at the end of the day, if it helps the important work of fighting communicable diseases, that's a good thing.