Corporate Giving

Hello again,

As someone from Connecticut who roots for all the NY sports teams, it's better not to mention what did or didn't happen in the Superbowl last night - I'll keep quiet about the game itself. I will comment though on one commercial in particular that I would love to hear your thoughts on... you can watch it at the link below:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=tMMct-a3-Lk
It's a spot for Dell's (RED) computers - the campaign that companies like GAP, American Express, Motorola, Hallmark, even Georgio Armani have joined to combat AIDS. In fact on website (www.joinred.com), a blurb about the commercial reads, "This ad shows that ordinary people can help eliminate AIDS in Africa, simply by choosing Dell (PRODUCT) RED while shopping for computers that they're already going to buy, and other ordinary people recognize and celebrate this choice..." In months past, the (RED) campaign has gotten a lot of attention. Headed by celeb icons like Bono and Bill Gates, it's sexy - it uses the "hot" products we all know and love, and celebrity faces like Penelope Cruz, Julia Roberts, and Don Cheadle to promote a cause and raise money/awareness for AIDS... all in all a good thing, right? I'm getting something by giving something.. what's not to love?

Right... but isn't there something somewhat off about trying to fight a sexually-transmitted disease with sex-laden ads? In one, Christy Turlington is sitting in a yoga position with a (RED) leotard.. that happens to be falling off her shoulders and clearly showing the outline of her breasts. In another a bare shouldered Jennifer Garner stands in a (RED) army coat.. with nothing under it. What are we really trying to sell here - a product or an awareness about AIDS and some of its causes/preventions?

Does it say anything about our culture that we're linking this materialism to "doing good"? Once again, consumerism has become the center of our motives/purposes... Through Project (RED) we become a "good consumer" not necessarily a good citizen. It gives us sort of an easy way out - a chance to know that some of our dollars are going to a good cause when we walk out the GAP doors with a bag of new (RED) stuff. Do programs like Project (RED) underestimate what we as Americans are capable of? It almost assumes that we can never completely step out of ourselves - even for a moment - to think of the other person.

Maybe I'm being too cynical -- don't get me wrong. Project (RED) has indeed raised money for an incredible cause; I'm not at all meaning to suggest that the founders of this program have bad or manipulative intentions or that this is ALL geared towards raising the bottom line. As a culture, we are very egocentric, and so it could be argued that (RED) is just an example of good marketing - an effective way to target the public, and at least get them talking about the campaign and AIDS, and maybe even contribute some money. At the same time, because of the fact that we are all citizens, and not just consumers, we should at least question things like this, and not just accept and swallow them as they're packaged. When Dell says, "Now there are four new ways to help eliminate AIDS in Africa" and shows me four new Dell products, I should at least be able to think of four other ways that I might be able to contribute - beyond swiping my American Express - or at least realize that I'm probably getting more out of the deal than someone with AIDS in Africa.