We Are the People We Have Been Waiting For

(RED)'s president Tamsin Smith is in Las Vegas for the NBA All-Star weekend, where she will be the keynote speaker at the NBA Wives Luncheon, which celebrates philanthropic work. Here's the transcript of her speech:

A lot of people wait for someone else to change the world, their world – a politician, a partner, a mentor, a belief system. These role models and support structures can be crucially important. But sometimes it takes individuals to turn the tide. Individuals, coming on like the tide, that is a force to be reckoned with.

When it comes to AIDS in Africa, we -- individuals -- don’t have time to wait for someone else to act.

WE ARE THE PEOPLE WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR

5,500 people dying every day of a treatable, preventable disease isn’t a cause, it’s an emergency. If your neighbor’s house is on fire, you don’t discuss, you just grab the hose. That is why we invented (RED). Our founders, Bono and Bobby Shriver, set out to build the most powerful tool they could – one that wouldn’t run dry, one that anyone could wield, one that would get the job done – and, dare I say it, one that would be easy, exciting, empowering, even fun, to use.

This powertool – the notion of a new consumer movement -- was straightforward, crazy and a revolutionary all at once. We wrote a manifesto to explain how (RED) would work. I’d like to read that for you now.


ALL THINGS BEING EQUAL. THEY ARE NOT.

AS CONSUMERS, WE HAVE TREMENDOUS POWER.
WHAT WE COLLECTIVELY CHOOSE TO BUY OR NOT TO BUY,
CAN CHANGE THE COURSE OF LIFE AND HISTORY ON THIS PLANET.

(RED) IS THAT SIMPLE AN IDEA. AND THAT POWERFUL. NOW YOU HAVE A CHOICE.
THERE ARE (RED) PHONES, (RED) SHOES, (RED) MP3 PLAYER, (RED) FASHION BRANDS.
AND NO, THIS DOES NOT MEAN THEY ARE ALL RED IN COLOR, ALTHOUGH SOME ARE.

IF YOU BUY A (RED) PRODUCT, AT NO COST TO YOU
A (RED) COMPANY WILL GIVE UP TO HALF THEIR PROFITS TO BUY AND DISTRIBUTE
ANTI-RETROVIAL MEDICINE TO OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS DYING OF AIDS IN AFRICA.

WE BELIEVE THAT WHEN CONSUMERS ARE OFFERED THIS CHOICE
AND THE PRODUCTS MEET THEIR NEEDS, THEY WILL CHOOSE (RED).
AND WHEN THEY CHOSE (RED) OVER NON-(RED), THEN MORE BRANDS WILL BECOME (RED)
BECAUSE IT WILL MAKE GOOD BUSINESS SENSE TO DO SO. AND MORE LIVES WILL BE SAVED.

(RED) IS NOT A CHARITY. IT IS SIMPLY A BUSINESS MODEL.
YOU BUY (RED) STUFF, WE GET THE MONEY, BUY THE PILLS AND DISTRIBUTE THEM.
THEY TAKE THE PILLS, STAY ALIVE AND CONTINUE TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR FAMILIES
AND CONTRIBUTE SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY IN THEIR COMMUNITIES.

IF THEY DON’T GET THE PILLS, THEY DIE.
WE WANT THEM TO LIVE.
WE WANT TO GIVE THEM THE PILLS.
AND WE CAN. AND YOU CAN. AND IT’S EASY.

ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS UPGRADE YOUR CHOICE.

Ok, so that’s the concept.

When you buy beautiful (RED) clothes from Gap or Armani, cool (RED) shoes from Converse, a hot (RED) phone from Motorola, or a rockin’ (RED) nano from Apple, you instantly become a Good Looking Samaritan.

Now, I know that I’m speaking to a special crowd. You already fit that bill. Good Looking Samaritans. You are already doing amazing things for your communities. What I’m offering today is a way to extend that energy into your shopping – turn a guilty pleasure into a virtuous endeavor. You don’t have to buy more, just buy smarter.

To date (RED) sales have generated over $20 million dollars for the Global Fund, which has gone straight into programs focusing on women and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Rwanda and Swaziland. Hundreds and thousands of mother, grandmothers, infants and orphans are profiting from (RED) purchasers.

I gotta tell you that FEELS SO INCREDIBLE.

Don’t we all just want to feel that way?

When some folks hear about my job, they sometimes say: “How wonderful of you to do what you do for people you don’t even know.” And I tell them: “I do what I do for me. I do it for how good it feels.” That’s to me is what will make (RED) a huge success at the end of the day. It empowers, it connects, it inspires – things that do that are things that you do over and over again. That’s what will sustain this effort.

We never want anyone to shop (RED) out of guilt. Shop (RED) out of love. Shop (RED) for the sheer joy of it.

Can I show you some pictures of fun in action?

[ROLL SIZZLE REEL]

Ok, so, head to Ceasars or hop onto the web and start accessorizing your compassion. Spend until the End. RIP HIV. Thank you.