[lbo-talk] Bono's Red campaign a flop

Wojtek Sokolowski sokol at jhu.edu
Mon Mar 5 07:51:22 PST 2007


Doug quoted:

Costly Red Campaign Reaps Meager $18 Million Bono & Co. Spend up to $100 Million on Marketing, Incur Watchdogs' Wrath

By Mya Frazier

The campaign's inherent appeal to conspicuous consumption has spurred a parody by a group of San Francisco designers and artists, who take issue with Bono's rallying cry. "Shopping is not a solution. Buy less. Give more," is the message at buylesscrap.org, which encourages people to give directly to the Global Fund.

[WS:] Bullshit! And bullshit again! The right slogan is "Buy smarter, produce smarter." Or perhaps "Fuck charity. Giving is for the birds!"

It is extremely annoying to see US-ers simply unable to break with the charity model of nonprofit operations, whereas nonprofits worldwide, especially in the developing countries gravitate toward self-sustainability by offering needed services that market producers have been unable to provide.

People do not need charity, which in many countries is a dirty word, as it reeks of paternalism. They need the capacity and the opportunity to support themselves through their own economic activities.

Wojtek



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