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March 5, 2007
Quit Picking on (Red)
Posted by Brad Abare | Filed under: Cause Marketing
It's too easy to pick on (Product) Red for being a marketing gimmick attempting to help a good cause. From Buy (Less) Crap to a recent article by AdAge's Mya Frazier, it's obvious the critics have been waiting to pounce on this one. Not so fast.
I realize that one of the jobs (at least it used to be I think) of the media is to hold society accountable, but I hate it when the media starts an attack with a weak argument. I understand that over $100 million has gone into launching Red, including product development, ads, creative, media buys, etc. And I realize that just $18 million has actually gone to fight the cause that Red is about.
But there is a question the critics are not answering. Would the $18 million given back to the cause have happened without the Red model? I don't think so. Furthermore, what has been the impact in terms of awareness brought to the world of cause marketing, and how many other causes will benefit from Red's mainstream lead in the marketplace?
The other problem with the argument against Red, especially from the Buy (Less) Crap world, is that the next generation of consumers are not giving money unless reciprocity is at play. With increasing personal debt loads and a craving for more crud, consumerism is not going away any time soon. I'm all for fighting consumerism, but let's at least let causes win and trick our selfishness into doing good.
If you're giving money directly to help causes, keep it up. If you're not, please keep buying products and services that do!
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