Hey guys, it’s Greg with Apple Explained.
And in this video we’re going to cover the history of special edition RED Apple products,
including what makes them different from other product colors.
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So if you’ve been an Apple user for a while, you might already be familiar with the Product
Red brand.
Because Apple first partnered with them back in 2006 when Apple released the special edition
Product Red iPod nano.
But you may not know all of the details behind it.
In fact, many people don’t even realize Product Red is a separate company from Apple.
So let’s begin by taking a look at what exactly the Product Red brand is, and then
cover the work Apple has done in partnership with them.
Now Product Red was founded in 2006 by Bono, the leader singer of U2, and Bobby Shriver.
The brand had one goal: To involve the private sector in raising awareness and money to help
eliminate HIV/AIDS in eight African countries.
And where does the money go?
Well, the primary recipient of the funds is The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis
and Malaria.
And Product Red raises this money by partnering with companies who create special Product
Red branded items, and then pledge a certain percentage of those profits.
And there are actually some pretty high profile companies who partner with Product Red, including
Coca-Cola, Nike, Starbucks, Converse, Hallmark, and even Pewdiepie.
But Apple was one of the first companies to work with Product Red when they created their
special edition second generation iPod nano.
Now we’ll get into the details of that iPod later, but right now you may be wondering,
like I was, why Apple was so eager to participate in Product Red’s campaign.
Because Apple never had a reputation of being an especially charitable company.
In fact, Steve Jobs, then Apple CEO, was known for being the opposite of generous.
Only making one public donation to the SEVA Foundation back in 1980, which consisted of
$5,000 and an Apple II computer.
And although there’s evidence that Jobs donated millions of dollars privately, many
people didn’t know about that until long after his death.
So perhaps at the time Jobs found it advantages to have Apple partner with a charitable organization
like Product Red.
But that wasn’t the only reason why Apple was quick to help out.
Because Bono, the founder of Product Red, had always been close to Steve Jobs.
In fact, back in 1982 Jobs sold his San Remo duplex apartment to Bono.
And in 2004 Apple partnered with Bono to create the special edition U2 iPod.
Which featured a red click wheel, band members signatures on the back, and came preloaded
with U2’s entire music catalog.
So it was almost natural for Bono to approach Apple for help when creating the Product Red
brand.
But Steve Jobs went a step further, and gave his opinion on the logo Bono chose for Product
Red.
Saying that the parenthesis interfered with the logo and that they should be removed.
But Bono disagreed, so Jobs relented, but made it clear that the logo would never appear
in the Apple Store.
And this actually resulted in some bitterness from Bono that’ll come up later in the video.
Now when Product Red was actually founded in 2006, Apple had their first special edition
device ready to go.
And that was the 2nd generation iPod nano.
It featured a red aluminum design with the product red logo on the back, and was exclusively
available in Apple’s retail and online stores.
And for each Product Red nano sold, Apple donated $10.
Now that may not sound like much, but because Apple sold so many iPod nanos, it generated
the largest amount of money for Product Red in their first year than any other partnering
company.
But this was only the beginning.
Because over the next twelve years, Apple would release more than a dozen new products
and accessories that featured the Product Red branding.
The second of which wasn’t really a product at all, but rather a gift card.
The iTunes Product Red Gift Card was introduced on January 9th 2007 and Apple pledged 10%
of the cards value to the campaign.
And although it was only available for a limited time, Apple reintroduced the Product Red Gift
Card in 2014 but only as a free bonus for customers who purchased items on Black Friday.
And the amount on the card depended on which product you purchased.
And when Apple updated their iPod line in 2007, they introduced not only a new Product
Red nano, but also an iPod shuffle, both of which were again exclusively available in
Apple’s retail or online stores.
And the following 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th generations of iPod nano all featured a special edition
Product Red model.
And the only difference between them is that Apple donated $13.20 for every nano sold beginning
with the 6th generation, as opposed to just $10 before.
And 2011 had another Red surprise in store, because for the first time, Apple released
a Product Red accessory; the Red Leather iPad Smart Cover.
And the company donated $4.80 for each one sold.
Now there’s a pretty interesting story behind this accessory.
Because as we know from earlier in the video, Jobs wasn’t a fan of the Product Red logo.
And apparently Jonathan Ive wasn’t either.
Because the location of the logo on the iPad’s smart cover was very inconspicuous.
Placed in small print on the inside edge of the accessory.
And this outraged Bono, who felt Apple wasn’t doing enough to raise awareness for the campaign.
So he actually complained on stage during an interview alongside Jonathan Ive, pulling
out an iPad Smart Cover and saying, “Where's the (Red) branding?
Nobody can see that.
This is modesty run amok.
This is the Apple way.
They're like a religious cult.”
Ive remained calm and replied by pointing out Apple had developed over half a dozen
Red branded products and that the partnership was very special to them.
And although Bono didn’t appear to’ve enjoyed the Red Smart Cover, customers must
have, because Apple branded a second accessory the following year in 2012.
This time it was a Red iPhone 4 Bumper case, and Apple donated $2 for each one they sold.
And that same year, the 4th generation iPod shuffle was introduced in a special Product
Red edition, with $4.80 being pledged for each unit.
Now up until this point, the only real Apple products that had received the Product Red
branding was the iPod nano and shuffle.
And that’s probably because nothing else they made really came in colors.
That is, until the 5th generation iPod touch in 2012.
And because its design featured color, Apple introduced a special edition Product Red model
where they donated $13.20 from each sale.
Now after the Red iPod Touch, Apple wouldn’t release another Product Red item for five
years, marking the longest break since they began their partnership with Bono’s organization
back in 2006.
So when Apple did finally create a new Product Red device in 2017, it was pretty big news.
And it ended up being the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, which was the first iPhone to ever be released
in this signature Red.
And since the 7, Apple has released a special edition Product Red iPhone with each new generation.
Including the red iPhone 8 and 8 Plus in April 2018, and the red iPhone XR in September 2018.
And unlike the iPods, Apple didn’t make their pledge amount public for each Product
Red iPhone they sold.
Only stating that a portion of proceeds will be donated.
Now those are the main devices Apple has released in Product Red, but there are more accessories
that I haven’t mentioned like the Red leather and silicon iPhone cases, Red Smart Battery
case for the iPhone, Red Apple Watch bands, the Red Leather Sleeve for iPad pro, and the
Red Apple Pencil case.
So clearly Apple is more involved with the Product Red campaign today than ever before.
Especially when considering the Red auction fundraiser Jonathan Ive participated in.
It took place in 2013, where Ive partnered with acclaimed industrial designer Marc Newson
to curate Product Red’s second auction fundraiser conducted by Sotheby’s.
Now this auction featured some very cool items designed with the help of Jonathan Ive.
The first of which was a pair of solid rose gold EarPods that ended up selling for $461,000.
There was also something called the Red desk that Ive created alongside Marc Newson, but
for some reason it wasn’t actually red.
But that didn’t deter buyers, since the desk sold for $1,685,000.
But I think the coolest item Jonathan Ive designed for this auction was a Leica camera
that was expected to sell for $750,000, but ended up going for $1.8 million.
And the last item provided by Apple was a one-of-a-kind Red Mac Pro, which I think looked
pretty incredible, and it sold for $977,000.
Now there will be a third Red auction coming up in December of this year which Jonathan
Ive will be a part of again, but we’ll have to wait and see what kind of products he’ll
offer up.
So since Apple first partnered with Product Red in 2006, they’ve raised over $160 million
for the organization.
But the campaign has received its fair share of criticism.
For starters, some people believe the huge amount of money Product Red invests in marketing
isn’t proportional to the real-world effect they’re having in Africa.
And this means the money users donate through purchasing an eligible product would be much
better spent by giving directly to the Global Fund itself, rather than the Product Red brand
serving as an expensive middleman.
Also, corporations who’ve partnered with Product Red have been criticized for using
the appeal of charity as a publicity tool rather than a vehicle for real social responsibility.
And when you consider that only $18 million dollars was raised for The Global Fund in
2006 after Product Red spent $100 million dollars in advertising, it begs the question
of whether or not they’re operating for the greater good of corporations, or for the
real people in need.
So that is the history of (RED) Apple Products, and if you want to vote for the next video
topic, don’t forget to subscribe.
Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you next time.