Marketing/AIDS

Even though the clothing company may have produced an image that does appeal to the consumer eye and would surely bring them more attention because I have probably walked passed this store a million times and have not paid it any attention, I personally do not feel that this gave them the positive feedback they were expecting. I know that they were trying to raise awareness for aids and to get people to support by buying their clothes but I think they should have tried a different approach. They could have just used words or even put symbols and picture on some of their clothing to help but not use this picture. When I look at this picture of this family, the first thing that pops into my head is not any type of clothing. Instead, I want to turn the other way because it is such an alarming photo. I would want to go inside and ask them why they had this outside of their store. I would not buy the clothing from the store but instead, I would find an organization to donate. This picture just makes me cringe because the guy lying on the hospital bed is in so much pain and his family endures the same pain. Millions of people have this disease and have to suffer with it for a very long time, while this company is just sitting there. The picture also makes me want to learn more about AIDS in general and spread the mews to others so that we can all be well-informed about this epidemic that is slowly killing our generation. Although United Colors of Benetton thought they were doing a good deed as far as putting the message out there, I feel that they should have thought more about the emotion behind this image and the millions of people they were representing and considered how they would feel being used in this way. Yes, the do want people to know that the disease is out there and that it is not only a gay man disease but I feel that they should not be used for advertisement. This company did not take into consideration that this issue is such a personal subject and should not be treated lightly. Most people have personal experiences with AIDS and to know that a clothing company is using this as a marketing strategy would upset them because they know that only a small percent of the profits go towards AIDS research and that they would gain most of the money. I feel that it is all about what you value. Should you use such a strong image to raise awareness and get what you want at the same time or should you just do it to raise awareness to help millions. Most companies use strategies such as this just to make a dollar. Despite the fact that their moral judgment was lost a little in the marketing plan, they probably were successful at getting people’s attention and I am pretty sure that some stopped in to buy the clothing thinking they were contributing to a great cause but ultimately the were just part of the plan to gain money.