(LESS) vs. (RED) Update

A week or so ago, I wrote about the (LESS) campaign– a ‘buy less crap’ response to the well-intentioned but mostly ineffective (RED) campaign to which the likes of Bono, Oprah, the Gap and Apple have subscribed. I want to thank you all for the comments you sent in in response to my post. I also wanted to share this clip from CNN that speaks to the tension between the (RED) campaign and responses from non-profits like (LESS). The gist of the story is that despite the widespread public perception that (RED) is effective — most likely due to the media blitz that accompanied (RED) — the campaign has been far more expensive to implement and market ($100M) than the donations that have resulted ($18M). As before, I encourage you all to leave comments with your opinions about this topic. What’s the most effective way to conduct important fundraising campaigns? Are these (RED) companies serious about making significant contributions, or are they more concerned with the PR exposure? I’m excited to hear your thoughts.