Join (RED)

On Monday I was watching a rerun of Oprah. The episode was the one with Bono and a few other celebs speaking about Africa and Bono's (RED) campaign. Here's the recap I ripped from oprah.com. Please read it. Remember to Join (RED)

Bono's Big Idea

Clothes are usually just fashion statements, but not today. "Clothes are usually not important or significant, they usually just cover your body, but I am wearing the most important T-shirt I've ever worn in my life. I love this so much I bought one for every person in this audience," Oprah says. "This red T is a revolutionary idea dreamed up by a man I call the reigning king of hope, and he just may be the coolest guy on the planet—Bono!"

Bono's band, U2, swept the Grammys®, and their concerts have sold out all over the world. He was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and named one of Time Magazine's Persons of the Year along with Bill and Melinda Gates.

What Bono is unveiling now is one of his biggest ideas yet—(RED)™!

(RED)™ is a revolutionary program designed to eliminate AIDS in Africa. "Lots of people here in the United States have been trying to deal with the problems of Africa in a very serious way," Bono says. "But not everybody has the time to be an activist or put on their marching boots. So we said, 'How are we going to get the shopping malls involved? How are we going to get to where people live and shop…?'"

By buying a (RED) brand T-shirt, a pair of jeans or even a cell phone, you can help save lives. Part of your purchase will be donated to The Global Fund to help those who need it most. Just the T-shirts that the audience is wearing today will provide enough medication to prevent transmission of HIV from mother to child for over 14,000 pregnant women.

Bono teamed up with old friend Bobby Shriver to create (RED)™. Bono says (RED) focuses on AIDS because we can make a difference.

"In some countries over a third of the people are HIV positive. Can you imagine that? A third of this audience is sitting there and they know they're going to die," Bono says. "We have these drugs. And they're not that expensive. We think it's a very American thing, it's a very European thing, to say, 'Look, these people are going to die; they don't need to die.' Two Twin Towers a day. A tsunami a month. One hundred fifty thousand Africans die of a preventable, treatable disease every month. They don't have to. And we think the Oprah kind of people will just not have it—they'll do the right thing, they'll do the (RED) thing."

Bono is using his passion to try to change the world. Does he ever get overwhelmed because of the need in Africa? "Yes, you get overwhelmed with the size of these problems and you think can we do something about it?" Bono says. "But I am really [convinced] that this generation, our generation, can be the generation to say 'no' to extreme poverty, or what I call 'stupid' poverty."

Bono recently visited Lesotho, Africa, where they make the signature Gap (PRODUCT) RED™ T-shirts. "You have a situation where most of those people in there are not aware that drugs are on the way," Bono says. "A third of them at this point are going to die, as they see it. "How do you go to work when you think you're going to die?"

The area has 150,000 people and one clinic. One doctor or nurse does the job of 10. Bono meets children taking complex AIDS medication who don't have enough money for food and are even starving in hospitals. (RED)™ will give teens like Angelique access to proper medication and a chance at a better life. "I would have died and no one would remember me, but I am alive because I got the medicine," Angelique says. "To have people who care and help us, I send a message of love to each of them. We have a better dream for us and a better future and that gives us hope."

(RED)™ is about getting the medicine to the people who need it. Since Chicago is one of the greatest shopping cities in the country, Oprah decides to drive Bono to Michigan Avenue—the heart of Chicago shopping—to paint the town (RED)!

Celebrity Shopping Spree

Oprah and Bono leave right in the middle of a show and drive a red Thunderbird down to Chicago's Magnificent Mile—the city's shopping epicenter. Fans greet Bono and Oprah as they arrive at the Gap, which has gone "red" for the launch of its hip, new line!

Gap is introducing Gap PRODUCT (RED)™—a limited collection of clothing and accessories for men and women designed to help eliminate AIDS in Africa.

Once inside the store, Oprah and Bono are welcomed by hundreds of employees who've lined the staircases!

Inside the Gap store on Chicago's Michigan Avenue, hundreds of employees are decked out in their PRODUCT (RED)™ shirts. They watch as Oprah and Bono peruse other (RED) clothes and accessories, which are now available online and in Gap stores nationwide!

Many Gap products are made in Africa, so in a way, Africans are paying for their own healthcare. "It gives them a sense of dignity," Bono says.

Oprah picks up a new pair of Gap PRODUCT (RED)™ jeans, a jacket and 10 (RED) T-shirts. Then, she gears up for the exclusive first look at Gap's entire collection of PRODUCT (RED) apparel.

"I want the whole world to go (RED)!" Oprah says.

Also getting a "foot" in the (RED)™ door is Converse. These Chucks combine culture and creativity in the Mudcloth sneaker (pictured rear). Traditionally used by the Bamana people of Mali, the mud-dyed cloth often marks life's major transitions, such as marriage and births. Converse found a woman in Mali who handmade all 1,000 yards of fabric for these one-of-a-kind shoes. "It changed her life," Bono says.

You don't need a mudcloth to put your own stamp on your kicks. Just use your name! With the purchase of a pair of Converse (PRODUCT) RED™ sneakers, an AIDS patient can receive an entire month of anti-retroviral drugs. You'll know the (RED) sneakers by the single red eyelet at the top of every shoe.

Supermodel Christy Turlington is known as the face of Maybelline, but now she's also one of the faces of PRODUCT (RED)™! As a mother of two, Christy says the idea that a mother can't get medication for her child is unfathomable.

Dressed in an "INSPI(RED)" tank top and olive "DESI(RED)" T-shirt, Christy makes a surprise appearance on the Gap runway. The safety pin attached to her shirt is decorated with African trading beads, which are customarily used in Africa in place of money.

Proceeds from Christy's outfit would help 58 pregnant women prevent the transmission of HIV to their unborn children.

Spanish starlet Penelope Cruz has starred alongside some of the hottest men in Hollywood, but today she's testing out her modeling skills on the Gap runway. "I'm very excited to be a part of this," she says.

Penelope is wearing a (RED)™ jean jacket and an African cotton "INSPI(RED)" T-shirt. This shirt was made in a Gap factory in Lesotho, Africa.

Proceeds from Penelope's jean jacket will pay for two months of anti-retroviral (ARV) treatments for one person and help 50 women prevent the transmission of HIV from mother to child.

Next stop is the Apple store, where Oprah and Bono are ready to rock at the same time! The iPod nano (PRODUCT) RED™ Special Edition holds 1,000 songs and a lot of hope. "It is so cute! I love the color. It's the perfect Christmas gift," Oprah says.

For every 10 iPods purchased, one HIV positive child can be treated with pediatric drugs for two months. "This is fantastic! I want 10 of them," Oprah says. "This is going to be a big, big, big hit."

Using his new (RED)™ MOTORAZR V3m, Grammy-award-winning rapper and producer Kanye West makes a special call to invite Bono and Oprah to Motorola. The purchase of 10 phones will provide someone with a year's worth of anti-retroviral drugs.

Hands-free can help even more people. One (RED) Bluetooth headset gives a child orphaned by AIDS hot meals and school supplies for one month—and 10 of them provide a year's worth of treatment for HIV/AIDS-related infections.

Of course, Chicago native Kanye West had to be the first to sign Motorola's Wall of Fame. Anyone who buys a (RED)™ MOTORAZR V3m or Bluetooth gets to leave their mark next to Kanye, Oprah and Bono's signatures.

Designer fashion has also gone (RED)™! Armani has launched a (RED) line featuring T-shirts, sneakers and jeans. The T-shirts are designed by an African designer, and each one has an African symbol standing for different meanings. Among them are "harmony" and "flight."

Oprah and Bono also love Armani's new (RED) watches. "I like it, very cool," Oprah says. One watch pays for one month of anti-retroviral treatment. "Can I have one?" Bono asks.

Bono never goes anywhere without his signature pair of shades—even snowy Chicago! The purchase of 10 pairs of the Armani (RED)™ sunglasses equals a year's supply of school supplies and hot food for a child orphaned by AIDS. "I want a pair," Oprah says. "Can I have 10 pairs of these?"

Oprah and Bono's whirlwind afternoon of shopping on the Magnificent Mile helped women and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa gain access to education, nutrition, counseling, medical services, and the two pills a day they need to survive.


(RED) Products and Organizations

Help women and children suffering from AIDS in Africa by visiting the following (RED)™ websites.

JoinRed.com
(RED)™ was created by Bono and Bobby Shriver to empower consumers to shop and do good at the same time. A portion of profits from the sale of (RED)™ branded products goes to The Global Fund to help women and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa, providing access to education, nutrition, counseling, medical services, and the two pills a day they need to help them stay alive.

The Global Fund
The Global Fund is the world's leading funder of programs to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, which kill over 6 million people per year.

Gap
Gap is introducing Gap (PRODUCT) RED™—a new, limited collection of clothing and accessories for men and women designed to help eliminate AIDS in Africa. Check out the line's cashmere hoodies, t-shirts, candles and more! As part of Gap's global partnership with (PRODUCT) RED™, half of the profits from sales of the Gap (PRODUCT) RED™Collection will go to The Global Fund to finance programs that help women and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Armani
Emporio Armani is a proud partner of (PRODUCT) RED™.This pioneering initiative will raise money and awareness for The Global Fund through the sales of a RED-branded capsule collection designed by Giorgio Armani including watches, sunglasses and t-shirts. Over the next five years, 40 percent of the gross profits from (Emporio Armani) RED will go directly to eradicate AIDS in Africa.

Converse
It's just a little, red eyelet, but it's the mark of a big idea. That single red eyelet at the top of each pair of Converse (PRODUCT) RED™ sneakers signifies participation in (RED)™, a program designed to help fight AIDS in Africa.

Motorola
Introducing the new red MOTORAZR V3m. The red MOTORAZR V3m was designed to help eliminate AIDS in Africa. The (PRODUCT) RED™ MOTORAZR is available at Best Buy and Sprint stores nationwide.

Apple
The iPod nano (PRODUCT) RED™Special Edition—available in 4GB or 8GB storage capacity—holds up to 2,000 songs, 25,000 photos, and a little hope because $10 from every iPod nano (PRODUCT) RED™sold goes directly to the Global Fund to fight AIDS in Africa.