Abstract
Through messages of romanticized consumption, consumers are encouraged to buy into the (PRODUCT) RED Campaign to help stop the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa. This research examines the (PRODUCT) RED campaign through a critical rhetorical analysis that questions whether (PRODUCT) RED substitutes consumerism for social activism. Simultaneously, it explores the resistance waged by Buylesscrap.com, and challenges the subversion tactics to hegemonic corporations taking advantage of the maker/buyer disjunction. John Fiske’s ideologies of consumerism and Stuart Hall’s theories of negotiation reveals that capitalizing on humanitarian efforts further marginalizes communities that are already disparaged by increasing the “GAP” between consumer mentality and campaign strategies.
Recommended Citation
Phu, Cindy N.
(2010)
"Save Africa: The commodification of (PRODUCT) RED campaign,"
Kaleidoscope: A Graduate Journal of Qualitative Communication Research: Vol. 9, Article 7.
Available at:
https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/kaleidoscope/vol9/iss1/7
