Apples latest (RED) campaign pushes to end age of AIDS : compare price before you buy : shopprice.au/iphone For Aaron Marshall, tweaking his popular photo-makeover app Over to help Apples two-week (RED) campaign to fight AIDS was a simple decision. The problem is at its worst just outside his front door. Here in South Africa, we stand to be impacted most by this campaign, says Marshall, a US native who moved his start-up to Cape Town after doing volunteer work in the area. In South Africa, nearly one in five people has HIV/AIDS. Working with Apple on this project was just a convergence of things we value the most, says Marshall, whose app will offer specially designed (RED) artwork and fonts during the campaign. We help people create awesome artwork, but now they can do that and also help people live longer. Apples two-week multi-pronged fundraising campaign for (RED) — the charity started by U2 lead singer Bono and Bobby Shriver — includes 24 partnering app-makers, from Angry Birds to Toca Boca, which will donate all proceeds from purchases of their apps or in-app upgrades to (RED). Additional funds will be raised through the purchase of Apple products. On December 1, World AIDS Day, every product in all Apple retail outlets and online is (RED), with a portion of those sales also all going to (RED)s partner, The Global Fund, which fights AIDS as well as tuberculosis and malaria in a range of developing nations. Since (RED)s founding in 2006, the charity has distributed $US275 million to The Global Fund. Some $US75 million of that has come from its various partnerships with Apple, which date back to the first (RED) iPod Nano in 2006. Tech companies and personalities seem to have caught the giving bug of late. The recent Ebola crisis caused Google co-founder Larry Page and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to personally donate $US15 million and $US25 million, respectively, as well as to create fundraising campaigns on their sites. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has committed $US100 million to the same fight. In the Steve Jobs era, Apple wasnt particularly known for its altruistic bent. But since taking the reins in 2011, CEO Tim Cook has gradually put his socially conscious stamp on the company. That has included everything from making public statements about Apples need to produce green products, sometimes at the expense of profits, to his support of gay and lesbian rights. (Last month, Cook wrote an article saying he was gay.) Apple is a proud supporter of (RED) because we believe the gift of life is the most important gift anyone can give, said Cook. For eight years, our customers have been helping fight AIDS in Africa by funding life-saving treatments which are having a profoundly positive impact. While Apples connection to (RED) isnt new, the scale and scope of this two-week effort represents a far more visible effort to link the company to good causes. For many companies, thats just good business, as such campaigns often also serve as effective marketing tools to lure and keep socially-conscious consumers. While the company would not predict what the two-week project would raise, an Apple spokesperson noted that the donated proceeds from the purchase of an iMac during the campaign would provide an HIV/AIDS patient with daily antiretroviral medicine for four months. With such medicine costing an average of US40 cents a day, four months worth would total $US48. If Apples (RED) project were to raise around $US10 million, that theoretically would provide daily medication for a year to some 70,000 people. Ive been a (RED) supporter for many years (because) the work they do is unassailable, and Im always thrilled to support (a cause) particularly when it involves food, says Mario Batali, who, as one of the chefs contributing to the Kitchen Stories Cookbook app, came up with a (RED) pizza featuring short rib, roasted tomato and Fontina cheese. He adds that hes eager to support a project that helps get us closer to an AIDS-free generation. That point may well be in sight. This year marked a tipping point in the AIDS fight, where we had more people getting treatment than coming down with the disease, says (RED) CEO Deborah Dugan, adding that she hopes (RED) is a gateway drug to activism for many consumers. When you pick the (RED) product over the white one, youre saying you think about the world around you, says Dugan. Were thrilled that a company like Apple continues to bring this cause to the forefront. Around 650 babies are born every day with HIV/AIDS. But it doesnt have to be that way. (source: theage.au)
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 04:03:33 +0000
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