Apple, which has a long-standing relationship with (RED), today announced that:
In honor of World AIDS Day, Apple® is offering more ways than ever for customers to join (RED) in its mission to create an AIDS-free generation. Apple is the world’s largest corporate contributor to the Global Fund, and this year marks its 10th anniversary supporting (RED) in the fight to end AIDS.
In an interview with Buzzfeed, Tim Cook said the (RED) campaign is “designed to reach people via all the different ways in which a customer might touch us.” Apple certainly seems to have accomplished Cook’s goal with an impressive array of plans this year:
- 400 Apple Stores will turn the Apple logo on the stores red or display special window treatments;
- 20 games are offering special (RED) content as in-app purchases, the proceeds of which will be donated to the Global Fund;
- Apple will offer special products, including a Product (RED) smart battery case for the iPhone 7 (pictured in this article on The Verge), a (RED) leather case for the iPhone SE, a (RED) Beats Pill+ portable speaker, and (RED) Beats Solo3 wireless headphones, which will join the year-round Product (RED) products that Apple offers;
- From December 1-6, Apple will donate $1 for every Apple Pay purchase made on apple.com and at Apple Stores up to $1 million;
- Bank of America will donate $1 for each Apple Pay transaction made with its cards up to the same $1 million maximum and for the same period as Apple; and
- iTunes has an exclusive (RED) holiday album from The Killers called Don’t Waste Your Wishes, 100% of the the US proceeds of which will be donated the Global Fund.
Tim Cook elaborated in his conversation with BuzzFeed on why Apple participates in events like the (RED) campaign against AIDS:
“We look for ways we think we can uniquely contribute to the world in which we live,” Cook said. “And we’ll always touch more people through our products than anything else. … It’s that area — an area in which we have expertise — where we think we can make a contribution that multiplies well beyond simply writing a check. We want to advocate for human rights in a way that people can look at what we’re doing and say ‘you know, I could be a part of something like that’ — ‘I could do something like that.’ For us this is critically important.”