American Express, Converse, Gap and Giorgio Armani are joining Bono to sell products under a new brand - Red - that would dedicate some of its revenues to the fight against Aids in Africa.
The effort will include the creation of an Amex Red credit card that will be marketed first in the UK, aimed at an estimated 1.5 million "conscience consumers" who are seen as more likely to buy products that are associated with a social benefit.
Other Red products to be sold this spring will include Converse sports shoes made with African mud-cloth, a new line of Gap vintage-style T-shirts - in red and other colours - and wraparound Emporio Armani sun glasses embossed with the Red logo.
Bono, the owner of the brand, said: "Red is a 21st century idea. I think doing the Red thing, doing good, will turn out to be good business for them."
The venture, scheduled to be announced today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, is the latest in a series of radical marketing experiments by big companies worried that television advertising is losing its punch.
Many of these efforts, such as Procter & Gamble's Pampers.com information web site, are based on the idea of usin good works or services to gain consumer attention - a notion some people are calling "corporate social opportunity".
John Hayes, chief marketing officer of American Express, said Bono "came to us" with the idea for a card that would benefit Africa about 18 months ago.
Amex began testing and decided the rock star's idea would help the company attract educated, affluent consumers without spending much money on direct mail or television advertising.
He said Amex and the other partners hoped the Red products could be marketed mainly through public relations and word-of-mouth campaigns, saving advertising spending that could help cover the cost of their contributions for African aid.
The money from Red will go to the Global Fund, a public-private partnership that has committed $4.5 billion (€3.7 billion) for Aids, tuberculosis and malaria programmes since it was created in 2002. The focus of the donations will be on Aids programmes for women and children.
Amex has agreed to contribute 1 per cent of Red card transactions, plus 1.25 per cent of any spending above £5,000 (€7,281) a year. The card will be available in March.
Red was picked as the brand name because it is the colour of emergencies echoing Bono's well-known refrain that Aids is not a cause, but an emergency. - (Financial Times service)
