Apple's (Product) RED Holiday Campaign Raised $20 Million to Fight AIDS

For this year's World AIDS Day campaign, Apple ran several (Product) RED promotions, providing a (RED) section in the App Store and donating a portion of all retail and online sales from Friday, November 28 and Monday, December 1.

According to an email Apple CEO Tim Cook sent out to Apple employees (via Re/code), the campaign was a huge success, earning more than $20 million for the (Product) RED charity, which uses its funds to fight AIDS in Africa.

apple_product_red_gift_card

"I'm thrilled to announce that our total donation for this quarter will be more than $20 million -- our biggest ever -- bringing the total amount Apple has raised for (PRODUCT) RED to over $100 million," Cook wrote. "The money we've raised is saving lives and bringing hope to people in need. It's a cause we can all be proud to support."

During the campaign, Apple partnered with 25 app developers to offer a variety of (RED) themed apps in the App Store, with purchase proceeds going towards the charity. Apple's annual Black Friday event was also (RED) themed, and customers who purchased an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or qualifying Apple accessory received a (RED) iTunes gift card.

According to Cook, Apple's $20 million quarterly donation to the charity is its biggest ever, but over the course of the company's long partnership with Product (RED), it has contributed more than $95 million. As of June, Apple had contributed $75 million to the charity, which is joined by this quarter's $20 million.

Throughout its partnership with (RED), Apple has released a number of (RED) devices including iPod nanos and shuffles, iPad Smart Covers, iPhone Bumpers, and iPhone cases. With every (RED) product bought, Apple continues to donate a portion of the purchase price to the Global Fund to fight AIDs.

Top Rated Comments

allthatjazz Avatar
117 months ago
Again, another distraction from making better iPhones and iPads. Besides, doing good deeds then boasting about them is actually more self serving than anything else.

Here's an idea Apple. Donate to whatever cause you want but shut the hell up and concentrate on innovation and customer satisfaction which has been losing ground as of late.
About the dumbest post I've seen on here.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
s2mikey Avatar
117 months ago
Speaking as one of those always-complaining liberals, I'm all for it.

That said, Apple has about $100 billion in net assets. So let's say you're a median US family, with a net worth of around $100,000. So $20 million to Apple would be about $20 for you. The grand total of $100 million would be like $100 for you.

I'm not saying every little bit doesn't count, but rich people and corporations get credit for charity far out of proportion to what any individual would get for giving a similar percentage of their worth.

Absolutely, positively. Anonymous charity is the ONLY true charity. Otherwise, it's just a PR move and a tax write off. Plus, the percentages are also to comical. With all of the tax evasion and funny accounting Apple does, the amount they gave to SIDS is literally pocket change when scaled down to what the average persons income is.

So, this is just simply a "hey, look at us caring about people with AIDS" maneuver during the holidays.

Big effing deal. :rolleyes:
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
azhava Avatar
117 months ago
This is pretty impressive. Despite some earlier posts complaining about it not being enough, this is huge bucks towards a good cause. These enormous world problems don't get soved without large corporate partnership. So many worthy causes, one at a time.
As evidenced by some of the posts in this thread already (and plenty of others elsewhere in other threads), there are people who will complain no matter what Apple does. If they gave a million dollars to everybody who owned an Apple product, there are people who would complain about what currency denominations it was given to them in, or the color of the check it was written on.

Kudos to Apple for donating to what they consider a worthy cause. It's more than a lot of other people and/or companies have done.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
azhava Avatar
117 months ago
Again, another distraction from making better iPhones and iPads....
...because I'm sure all their iPhone/iPad designers and iOS programmers closed up shop and had to work in the Public Relations department during the entire RED Holiday Campaign, right?

See, there's this thing called organizational structure. They have different departments which work on different things. No campaign or program they participate in has any effect whatsoever on the people designing and building products. This isn't a mom-and-pop shop where they have to quit stocking shelves to go help you at the cash register.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Patriot24 Avatar
117 months ago
No good deed goes unpunished.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AppleFan360 Avatar
117 months ago
Again, another distraction from making better iPhones and iPads. Besides, doing good deeds then boasting about them is actually more self serving than anything else.

Here's an idea Apple. Donate to whatever cause you want but shut the hell up and concentrate on innovation and customer satisfaction which has been losing ground as of late.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 17

iOS 17.2 Will Add These 12 New Features to Your iPhone

Friday December 1, 2023 12:19 pm PST by
iOS 17.2 has been in beta testing for over a month, and it should be released to all users in a few more weeks. The software update includes many new features and changes for iPhones, including the dozen that we have highlighted below. iOS 17.2 is expected to be released to the public in mid-December. To learn about even more features coming in the update, check out our full list. Journal ...
iOS 17

Apple Releases iOS 17.1.2 With Security Fixes

Thursday November 30, 2023 10:12 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 17.1.2 and iPadOS 17.1.2, small updates to the iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 operating systems that Apple introduced in September. iOS 17.1.2 and iPadOS 17.1.2 come a few weeks after the release of iOS 17.1.1, another bug fix update. iOS 17.1.2 and iPadOS 17.1.2 can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update....
iOS 17

28 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in December's iOS 17.2 Update

Friday December 1, 2023 2:57 am PST by
Apple made the first beta of iOS 17.2 available to developers in October. Since then we've seen three more betas, and with each iteration Apple continues to add more new features and changes, many of which users have been anticipating for quite a while. Below, we've listed 28 new things that are coming to your iPhone when the finalized version is publicly released this December. 1. Help...
apple card 1

Apple Ending Apple Card Partnership With Goldman Sachs

Tuesday November 28, 2023 3:09 pm PST by
Apple is ending its credit card partnership with Goldman Sachs, according to The Wall Street Journal. Apple plans to stop working with Goldman Sachs in the next 12 to 15 months, and it is not yet clear if Apple has established a new partnership for the Apple Card. Apple and Goldman Sachs will dissolve their entire consumer partnership, including the Apple Card and the Apple Savings account....
iOS 17

Everything New in iOS 17.2 Beta 4

Tuesday November 28, 2023 12:18 pm PST by
Apple is wrapping up development on iOS 17.2, with the update expected to come out in December. While we're getting to the end of the beta testing period, Apple is still tweaking features and adding new functionality. We've rounded up everything new in the fourth beta of iOS 17.2. Default Notification Sound Under Sounds & Haptics, there's a new "Default Alerts" section that allows you to ...
iPhone 16 Mock Header Updated 1

iPhone 16 to Include Action Button Across Entire Lineup

Thursday November 30, 2023 4:08 pm PST by
The release of the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max saw the introduction of an entirely new user-configurable button known as the Action button, and now, MacRumors has seen extensive evidence confirming Apple is planning to include the Action button on the entire iPhone 16 range. Designs and plans for the Action button date back to at least 2021, as the button was intended for release alongside hapt...
anker new xmas

Anker's Cyber Week Sale Enters Final Days With Up to 60% Off Sitewide

Friday December 1, 2023 12:05 pm PST by
Anker's Black Friday/Cyber Week event is entering its final days this weekend, and it's still offering up to 60 percent off sitewide. There are also a few "mystery boxes" that can include hundreds of dollars in savings, if you're willing to risk not knowing what you're buying ahead of time. All of these sales will end on December 3. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Anker. When you...
paramount plus logo

Apple and Paramount Considering Discounted TV+ Streaming Bundle

Friday December 1, 2023 4:40 am PST by
Apple and Paramount have discussed bundling their TV streaming services at a discount, according to a new report by The Wall Street Journal. The companies have talked about offering a combination of Paramount+ and Apple TV+ that would cost less than subscribing to both services separately, according to people familiar with the discussions. The discussions are in their early stages, and it is ...
General Apps Messages

Green Bubbles on iPhone to Gain These 7 New Features Next Year

Thursday November 30, 2023 9:00 am PST by
Earlier this month, Apple announced that it will finally support RCS in the Messages app on the iPhone starting later next year. This change will result in several improvements to the messaging experience between iPhones and Android devices. RCS will become the new default standard for messaging between iPhones and Android devices, but these conversations will still have green bubbles like...