Bono’s (Product) Red campaign is located in the Gap in stores nationwide. (Nick McCarthy)

A new fashion trend bursts brightly in the windows of Gap, at the Apple Store, and on the shelves of Armani and Converse. The crimson campaign to fight aids has infiltrated the consumer world.

The (Product) Red campaign began in the United Kingdom when world-renowned singer and activist Bono and Bobby Shriver, chairman of DATA, joined forces with the Global Fund to raise awareness about and money to fight AIDS in Africa. (Product) Red uses the power of brand recognition of iPod, Armani, Converse, Gap, American Express and Motorola. The campaign relies on consumer responsibility to purchase the exclusive products. Now in the U.S., the strategy must stand the test of American culture. At Southern Methodist University, the test is whether students notice the red motifs at NorthPark Center and if they literally buy into the promotion.

Amen Amichigh, a senior at SMU, approved of the campaign, even though he has not purchased any products.

“It’s cool if people are buying the stuff anyway and this way they can help somebody out,” he said.

Other students have mixed feelings about the campaign. Elsa Romero, a junior, compares the (Product) Red campaign to the breast cancer campaign, which uses pink as a signature color. Romero said, “I’m pretty sure they are going to sell, because it raises awareness and people will help fight AIDS by purchasing their favorite products.”

The iconic companies contribute a certain percentage of the product sales to the campaign. Gap donates half the profit of Red t-shirts, Apple donates $10 of every Red iPod Nano purchase, and American Express donates one percent of a customer’s total spending every quarter. Most of the donations are used in Rwanda and Swaziland for anti-retroviral treatment, providing mothers with treatment to prevent passing HIV to their children, voluntary counseling and HIV testing.

These altruistic endeavors meet cynicism on the SMU campus. Romero commented that the campaign “seems like a way for companies to make money from the tragedy of AIDS in Africa.” And Sarah Devito, a sophomore, believes it is only effective with people who can afford to buy the products. But according to Cox School of Business Marketing Chair Daniel Howard, all companies consider the interest of investors before committing to such a campaign.

Professor Howard explained that the genius behind the campaign is that it places the responsibility of philanthropy into the hands of the consumer. A participating company does not have to give money unless it first receives a profit. The consumers benefit because they get good feelings of charity while making a purchase, and the Global Fund benefits from the sale of products it did not have to market or manufacture. The (Product) Red campaign seems to be a winning situation all around.

But the catch lies in the sustainability of the campaign, according to Howard. “First-World consumers are an extremely powerful contingent,” he said. “We won’t know if it’s successful for three to five years.”

Marketing Professor Richard Briesch thinks this campaign will be successful because of the marketing strategy. “There is a large segment of socially conscious consumers, especially youth.” Briesch emphasized the power of “brand association” and “segmentation” with celebrity involvement in the campaign. This marketing strategy implies that celebrities appeal to a large group of people and there is a “sense of belonging to a group.”

The AIDS epidemic seems far away to many people, but the problem permeates our local community as well. SMU’s Student Activities and Multicultural Affairs office recently hosted a “pledge of responsibility” during February’s National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. Students signed a large poster in the SAMSA office and pledged to take responsibility for their personal health. Ke’ Ana Hardy, the coordinator of African American Student Services, believes that the “national and international effect each other.”

Although the campus pledge was for students only, both types of campaigns are equally important because anyone can take local knowledge and passion to the global community.