Motorola (RED) – the new ‘wristband’?

The Independent is one of my favourite newspapers. Often a little different, always daring, up front and in your face, and not afraid to tell it how it is.

Tuesday, May 16th’s edition is no different.

Dedicated to Africa (not entirely, but pretty close) – and in particular the continent’s battle with HIV/AIDS – even the adverts have a philanthropic, humanitarian feel. Ads for credit cards which donate money ‘as-you-spend’ to HIV/AIDS research, and a mobile phone (I’ll leave you guess the colour) from Motorola which pledges a percentage of its sale price. ‘Pay-as-you-go’ becomes ‘give-as-you-go’ with UK operators donating 5% of your call spend to the cause (but only if you use one of these Africa-friendly mobiles). Getting that bunch to agree to that is an achievement in itself, let’s not be mistaken.

Even the story about Prince Harry’s girlfriend has a nice African touch – she’s from Zimbabwe, apparently (and very nice, too).

Helped along by Bono of U2 fame (who stars as the Editor for the day) and his Product RED charity, Africa is back on the agenda big time. Let’s hope today’s Independent sticks around in bars, cafe’s, doctors surgeries and hairdressers long enough for people to take notice. The very fact that it’s there, and it’s high profile (and it’s in red) is good enough for me.

Now, where did I leave that white wristband?