(U-WIRE) BATON ROUGE, La. – What do Motorola, The Gap, Apple Inc. and AIDS have in common?
$$$.
At least, that’s what it seems like lately.
The purpose of the (RED) campaign is to bolster consumers self-affirmation by making them think they can cure AIDS by buying an iPod.
Well, that’s what I take from it. The actual purpose, according to the (RED) Web site www.joinred.com, is to “[team] up with the world’s most iconic brands to produce (PRODUCT)RED branded products. A percentage of each (PRODUCT)RED item sold is given to The Global Fund. The money helps women and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa.”
In addition to the three aforementioned companies, American Express, Converse and Emporio Armani are selflessly sacrificing their own profits in order to stop AIDS in Africa.
And thank God for the American people who will sacrifice so much and buy a red iPod to save a child. Even though the white ones are so coveted, we are willing to make this sacrifice.
I wonder how many of the kids in Africa have iPods.
I also wonder how much the (RED) companies’ profits have increased since they began this self-sacrifice.
(RED) has created a mindset in which people will walk down the street, wearing an Armani watch and listening to a $200 iPod, feeling self-righteous because their products happen to be red… er, excuse me… (RED).
Instead of raising awareness on an epidemic, (RED) has created a sort of faux pas fashion statement, while remaining completely ignorant to their deeds.
It isn’t everyone’s place in life to stop AIDS. Though it is a terrible disease that takes many, many lives, everyone is not in a position to be able to help. And to have large corporations let the well-off people who are in a position to help feel like they already have because they got a new credit card is almost blasphemous to humanity.
Wearing red garments and purchasing our expensive technology in the color red instead of white or black is not going to stop AIDS or even help all that much. All it will do is feel our self-righteousness and superiority while the women and children in Africa that this campaign is supposed to help slowly die off.
But at least we can pretend. The comforting cushion of false hope.
Please, tell me lies. Tell me sweet little lies.
And now some things that won’t stop AIDS.