The (RED) Thread - Discuss Products Only! (#2)

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Isn't this the (RED) thread #3 or 4 now I think? :hmm: Doesn't matter tho :)

(RED) :drool:


Actually I just checked and this is actually our 6th RED thread! :ohmy:

But it is only the 2nd "Discuss products only" version :wink:
 
Last edited:
Hi, this is bn from the (RED) team! I just wanted to drop in and let you guys know that we've read some of your posts here, and want to thank you for your support!

We noticed that some of you have experienced difficulty buying your (PRODUCT) RED items at Hallmark. Because Hallmark has so many independent retailers, the products are located differently in every store. We've found that if you ask where the (PRODUCT) RED items are, the salespeople will walk you right to it. If your local store isn't stocked with (PRODUCT) RED items that you'd like to purchase, you can talk to the store management about it and encourage them to support (RED).

And of course, look forward to seeing many more Hallmark (PRODUCT) RED products in the coming year! As Hallmark gets into the swing of things, you'll see (RED) much more prominently in the stores.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me at info@joinred.com.

Thanks again, and happy holidays.

bn
 
Thanks for the Hallmark info bnred. I'm looking forward to new (RED) items from Hallmark and hopefully more and different types of retailers in the future. All my gifts will be wrapped in (RED) this year, and many of the gifts inside are (RED) as well. I'm a fan :)
 
bnred said:
Hi, this is bn from the (RED) team! I just wanted to drop in and let you guys know that we've read some of your posts here, and want to thank you for your support!

We noticed that some of you have experienced difficulty buying your (PRODUCT) RED items at Hallmark. Because Hallmark has so many independent retailers, the products are located differently in every store. We've found that if you ask where the (PRODUCT) RED items are, the salespeople will walk you right to it. If your local store isn't stocked with (PRODUCT) RED items that you'd like to purchase, you can talk to the store management about it and encourage them to support (RED).

And of course, look forward to seeing many more Hallmark (PRODUCT) RED products in the coming year! As Hallmark gets into the swing of things, you'll see (RED) much more prominently in the stores.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me at info@joinred.com.

Thanks again, and happy holidays.

bn



bn, thanks for choosing to enter this forum and the (RED) thread. You will find that (RED) has a lot of friends here. :cute:


As bonocomet said above, this is about the fourth or fifth thread about (RED) here in PLEBA which shows that our support of (RED) is one of the things which unites us.


You have always been welcomed here and always will be. Thanks again, bn. :hug:

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Now, here is my (RED) update:


This past weekend I went on my last shopping trip before the Holidays and I was pleased by what I found in the stores that I went to.

My neighborhood Hallmark store had a nice display of their (RED) cards, wrapping paper and mudcloth bags. (my favorites)

I bought another box of (RED) cards and another roll of (RED) wrapping paper.




At the GAP, I found some necklaces on sale for $7.99 apiece so I bought two to give away as presents.


I also found the leather bracelets that used to sell for $10 on clearance for only $0.49 apiece!

I found this to be an inc(red)ible bargain so I got 10 of them in red and white leather to give out to others as introductory presents to the world of (RED).

I just couldn't pass them up for that price!



No more shopping for me for awhile now - I have a trip in February to pay for. (smile)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Please continue your support of (RED) in support of the Global Fund!


(www.theglobalfund.org) :bonodrum: :hi5:
 
bnred, thank you for the info on (RED). Since I live in central Europe, it's almost impossible for me to get those products. I went to an Armani store in Italy once, that's the only time I saw (RED) products. We don't have GAP here, but I'll check out some of the (RED) stuff on Gap com over the holidays, maybe someone will be able to get some stuff for me and send it to me. I would love to have the new wristbands.
 
I have to remember to actually go into a Hallmark store when i pass one :lol: to look at he (RED) products there!

Actually :der: I'm not quite sure i actaully pass a HM on my most traveled routes...but I'll have to remember to look for one, cause I forgot (RED) had stuff in there.
thanks for the reminder!
 
dju said:
do u have any wallpaper for (red)thing for my Pc..like do the (red) thing...anyone?

hey dju, I know that i've posted this before in a (RED) thread but it's been awhile so - here's an answer to your question.


Click on the link below to find (RED)'s Community Toolkit which came out almost a year ago to help grassroots people like you and me to SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT (RED)!


http://www.joinred.com/toolkit/


There you can find the MOST BEAUTIFUL wallpaper for your pc ever - and Bono is not even on it. :love:




This is the picture that I chose to be the wallpaper for my pc when I first saw it months ago and I will never change it, I love it that much.


We ARE the People that we've been waiting for. (if we don't change the world - who will?)




Thank you for your continued support of (RED) in support of the Global Fund. (www.theglobalfund.org)


:bono: :heart: :heart: :hug:
 
I work at a smaller Hallmark store in Virginia and we are planning to have (RED) products on on front wall after the Ornaments come down. Most Hallmarks will probably put up the same wall.

The product came in yesterday and I got to rifle through the boxes to pick what I wanted! :wink:
 
last unicorn said:
bnred, thank you for the info on (RED). Since I live in central Europe, it's almost impossible for me to get those products. I went to an Armani store in Italy once, that's the only time I saw (RED) products. We don't have GAP here, but I'll check out some of the (RED) stuff on Gap com over the holidays, maybe someone will be able to get some stuff for me and send it to me. I would love to have the new wristbands.

:wave: hi last unicorn.
Yes, it's such a shame that they don't sell the RED stuff over here! The new GAP clothes look so great - I want a new shirt :(
I always complain about the fact that they don't sell most of the stuff in central Europe on the "myspace RED homepage", but they never post my comments! :ohmy:
 
You're very welcomed, dju. :wink:


Also, (RED) has recently come out with its (RED) Report which documents the TREMENDOUS growth and acceptance of PRODUCT(RED) around the world in the last two years.


It is a twenty-five page report which succinctly and beautifully describes exactly what (RED) is all about.
It is definitely worth your time to read.



Here is the link to the report:

http://www.joinred.com/report/



Be re-inspi(red). :bonodrum: :hug:
 
^
I just have 2 say, Jamila.... U have been a beacon of light 4 the RED initiative on this site since its inception, and have been vital in many members here continuing 2 "shop with their Hearts" even when some had begun 2 think it was a passing fad. Thank U, beautiful.
 
Has anyone seen the (RED) rose bouquets on the Hallmark website? I was so disappointed when I found out they couldn't be delivered internationally :scream: They're a gorgeous idea anyway. Anyone who has a chance should take advantage and send them to someone special.

By the way, has anyone seen the (RED) holidays goodies at the Hallmark stores in Canada? :hmm: I'm going out looking for them tomorrow :lastminute: :uhoh:
 
The Disciple said:
^
I just have 2 say, Jamila.... U have been a beacon of light 4 the RED initiative on this site since its inception, and have been vital in many members here continuing 2 "shop with their Hearts" even when some had begun 2 think it was a passing fad. Thank U, beautiful.


I just saw this post and I want to say "Thank You" to The Disciple for the very kind words. I appreciate them more than anyone could know. :cute:



I'm glad if people have found something of merit in the words and posts that I do - especially if those posts re-inspire others to support the organizations in our movement that are striving to make extreme poverty history.


That has always been the main focus in my life and the main reason why I post on U2 fansites. I am simply trying to help bridge the two worlds which mean the most to me - Africa and (U2's) music - to encourage others to speak up for the right of every person to live like a human in our world. :hi5:




I have mentioned several times to the People of (RED) just how motivated people here are to continue to support and spread the word about (RED).

Now that there has been direct contact with bn, let's all work together in this thread to show (RED) and ourselves just how united we can be.



I think that would truly be a Holiday Blessing.

:bono: :heart: :heart: :hug:
 
Picked up three bracelets as gifts, and a necklace for myself. We're all so blessed.You know what I mean...

Merry Christmas to all!
 
Got my dad a RED shuffle, my son got a bunch more GAP gear, and I got me some GAP gear as well, sue me. :wink:
 
Most of the presents under our tree are wrapped in (RED) paper. It looks really pretty :) (Lots of (RED) inside the packages too!)
 
I hope that everyONE is having a WONDERFUL Christmas Holiday.~



I just wanted to share with those who frequent this thread the most TERRIFIC Christmas present that I received this year.

Last night, at our Christmas Eve gathering, my daughter and her fiance presented me with several presents.



To my great surprise, my daughter handed me an envelope and said "open it".

What was inside was a receipt from the UN Foundation showing that my daughter and her fiance made a $50 donation to the Global Fund in my name in support of (RED)! (www.theglobalfund.org)



This is TRULY the BEST Christmas present that I could have received - knowing that my support of (RED) and the movement to make extreme poverty history actually has had an effect on my family and that they knew that what would make me the happiest is for them to donate money to the Global Fund to save more lives and futures in Africa!



We had a very (RED) Christmas in my household this year - what about yours?


:bono: :heart: :heart: :hug:
 
I got three shirts and three bracelets for Christmas. My mum got a shirt and my sister got a purse and a necklace! Here are mine:

HPIM0007.jpg
 
There is a GREAT new interview with Bobby Shriver which has just been printed in Contribute Magazine.


I don't have a direct online link for the article but here is the magazine's link:

http://www.contributemedia.com/magazines.php

=============================

Contribute
December 25, 2007


A profitable approach to fighting AIDS

Product (RED) co-founder defends a new model for raising funds


Bobby Shriver, 53, a former journalist and the son of the founder of the Peace Corps, met
Bono when the U2 lead singer created a song for a Special Olympics fundraising album
being organized by Shriver in 1987. The two became friends, but it wasn't until 2002 that
Bono contacted Shriver to help him create DATA, for Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa, which
works to eradicate extreme poverty and AIDS in Africa.


Stymied in their efforts to get
corporations to contribute money to keep HIV-positive mothers in Africa from passing the
virus to newborns, the pair then organized Product (RED) to engage mainstream
consumers and major brands to give more at the cash register to stamp out AIDS.



Is it working one year out? CONTRIBUTE Editor-in-Chief Marcia Stepanek caught up with
Shriver — a Yale-educated lawyer and the nephew of U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy — to talk
about the evolution of the (RED) project since it was unveiled at the World Economic Forum
in Davos in January 2006. What follows is an edited transcript of that conversation.



Why (RED)?


SHRIVER: After a couple of years of DATA, we got the feeling that we weren't getting to the
soccer moms; we weren't really getting into the pig roasts. Somebody said one day to
Bono that what we needed to do was become more like the GAP — they're in the malls.
They advertise all day long and they tell a story to (mainstream) consumers. That's how
stories get out in America — via advertising. We realized that if we were going to convince
any company to work with us, the only way we could make it sustainable is to enable
companies to make money on it. So we had to make up a brand. We had the idea of (RED),
which is the idea of an emergency. The fact that there are 5,500 people dying a day (of
AIDS) is an emergency. We came up with a brand and a logo and a marketing program,
and that's how it all came about.



Then it took off.


SHRIVER: Well, I wouldn't go that far. You're talking about a start-up with no capital. After
two years of work, we launched the first single product, an American Express card in the
U.K. Then, in the fall of last year — God bless Oprah Winfrey — all the products launched
in America. And then, due to her genius and Bono's great reputation, (RED) finally did take
off, yes.



How does it work?

SHRIVER: Every relationship with our partner companies is a five-year contractual
relationship — which includes auditing, business relationship contracts that cover rights,
non-rights, and so forth. So all of that is very specific. And the trademarks are registered
all over the world and defended all over the world. And each partner relationship is a sort
of startup in and of itself. GAP (RED) would be a startup. Armani (RED) would be a startup.
Converse (RED) would be a startup. And each company, depending on its business model
— Motorola (RED) would be a startup — would have to figure out how this project would
work into its business. A cell phone is a very different business than scarves, and scarves
are a very different business than shoes.


We knew there would be hiccups, as there are in any startup. We only wanted people to
stay the course a little bit on this. We didn't want the thing to be a one-off promotion,
something people would do for just a week or a month. People, once they start to take
AIDS medicine, can't really stop. It has to be steady. You have to have companies that are
steady.



What's been the reaction from companies so far?


SHRIVER: I think some have been ecstatic, while for some it's been pretty good — and
some have struggled, which is exactly what you'd expect of something new. But I think, at
the end of the day, the $47 million speaks for itself. It's way beyond what I ever would
have thought possible. Overall, (RED) products have gone over $100 million in profit. The
companies are keeping part of that.



So it's been a win-win for companies and cause?

SHRIVER: Yeah. I'm a little nervous about that phrase, win-win. I know it's shorthand, and I
even say it myself sometimes, but I think people get sort of nervous because nobody ever
really believes there is such a thing as a win-win. Do you know what I mean? It's true that
companies are making money (from their participation) but that's an idea that needs to be
defended. (RED) is not a charity. There's this thinking out there that if you're a charity, you
have to fly in the back of the bus and go to church three times a week.


It's not the perception that we're here to make money, to demand performance, to work hard — you
know what I'm saying? That kind of thinking is new in philanthropy. We at (RED) are people
who are trying to do pro-social things while holding our colleagues to what I would call
private sector standards. That's a new idea.


The companies that joined us as partners made a hard decision because they knew, and it
has been borne out, that they would be criticized. And we also knew that if you were to do
a poll on the issues that Americans care about, AIDS in Africa at the time would come in
almost last. We weren't (Hurricane) Katrina. It wasn't, "Hi, we're going to do T-shirts for
Katrina. It wasn't that."




What was your reaction to the piece earlier this year in Ad Age that said companies were
spending far more money on marketing — some $100 million — than on eradicating AIDS
in Africa?


SHRIVER: It's a fundamentally inaccurate point. That marketing money is being spent all
the time. How many ads have you seen for a cell phone in today's paper? That marketing
money is being spent any day, regardless—whether the phone is red or black. What (RED)
does is take the money a company is already spending on marketing and turn that money
— and that ad — (RED). That's all we're doing.


Another assertion in Ad Age was that if
people buy the (RED) T-shirt, then they won't contribute money to charity. That's like
saying you bought ten bottles of Paul Newman salad dressing this year, so now you're not
going to give money to a cancer charity. One has nothing to do with the other. People are
smarter than that. You bought the salad dressing because you wanted to have salad
dressing on your salad.




What about criticism that companies may partner with (RED) to patch over their
reputations for being a sweatshop, and so forth?


SHRIVER: We really feel that we're at war, you know, because getting this money out of
governments and companies to fight AIDS is hard work. At any moment they could take it
from you. And we have seen people dying as our critics have, and when you've seen that
and you realize the money can go at any moment, I don't really think too much about
whether a company is taking advantage of me.


You're giving me 50 percent of your
profits? Nice to meet you. Congratulations. Have a nice day. And you're going to run all
that advertising that says there's an issue called AIDS in Africa? God bless you.


(c) Contribute Magazine Inc., 2007

:bonodrum: :hi5: :hug:
 
iloveedge said:
I got three shirts and three bracelets for Christmas. My mum got a shirt and my sister got a purse and a necklace! Here are mine:

HPIM0007.jpg

Wow, these look great! I would love to have the black ones.
 
Don't forget that you can now go to the Hallmark (RED) website and purchase the new (RED) card line directly over the Internet!


There are the (RED) Holiday cards, (RED) birthday cards, (RED) musical cards, blank (RED) cards and the newly designed (RED) cards from everyday people like you and me!





Check them all out here and remember to "SHOP 'TIL IT STOPS" :


http://www.hallmark.com/webapp/wcs/store...20RED™



(www.theglobalfund.org) :bono: :heart: :heart: :hug:
 
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