Branding charity: Turning shopping into a funding solution

• In Event: Novel Forms of Visual Communication

Abstract

In today’s Western society charity has become fashionable. Product(RED) serves as a case study of a successful cause marketing campaign that may have a variety of unintended social consequences. By glossing over the complexities involved with (RED), charity becomes a simple equation: Buy (RED) = Save Lives. Using concepts from globalization and visual culture, this paper unpacks (RED)’s simple equation, explores how (RED) visually brands charity, and examines the potential consequences of the campaign.

Author

• Margaret Griffith, University of Illinois, Chicago