(RED)RUSH TO ZERO Campaign To Engage Gamers, Music Fans, Consumers And Celebrities In The Push For An AIDS Free Generation By 2015

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May 24, 2012, 12:01 ET

NEW YORK, May 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- (RED) today announced the first-ever (RED)RUSH TO ZERO campaign, taking place June 1-10, 2012, to raise funding and awareness to help deliver an AIDS Free Generation by 2015, a critical milestone in the fight against AIDS. The virtual elimination of mother to child transmission of HIV is part of the eight Millennium Development Goals, which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS by the target date of 2015.

(RED)RUSH TO ZERO, held in June, which is the 31st anniversary of the discovery of HIV, consists of a series of in-person and digital events and experiences involving brands, celebrities, gamers, music fans and consumers around the world. Since launching in 2006, (RED) has raised more than $190 million to fight AIDS. The recipient of these funds is the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. (RED) helps finance Global Fund HIV/AIDS grants that have impacted the lives of more than 14 million people affected by AIDS in Africa.

(RED)RUSH TO ZERO will feature three major components: the (RED)RUSH Games, a global video game tournament; the (RED)Music program, allowing fans to buy (RED) tickets from major artists and iconic venues to turn their shows (RED); and the Cash & Rocket (RED)Tour, a fundraising road trip across Europe.

"The world is at a historic moment in the fight against HIV/AIDS, with the opportunity to end mother-to-child transmission of HIV and take a critical step toward defeating this global pandemic," said Deborah Dugan, CEO of (RED). "We will only get over the finish line if we create new funding opportunities and new ways to keep people engaged and energized– (RED) will do its part by bringing business, culture, sport, and empowered women together to help empower other women and their children by ensuring that the next generation is born HIV free. (RED)RUSH is a unique effort to build momentum and ensure that the incredible progress that has been made over the last decade continues. We are, as always, grateful to our corporate partners for stepping up and creating exciting, new opportunities for engaging consumers and generating vital funding for the Global Fund."

"We've made so much progress in the fight against AIDS over the last decade. Now would be the worst time to slow down," said Gabriel Jaramillo, General Manager, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. "As the global economy threatens public sector funding, more than ever we need innovative fundraising models like (RED), which has done so much to align the private sector to our goals. We're excited about (RED)RUSH and its ability to tap into popular culture to help deliver a key milestone on our path to ending AIDS. We're very grateful for (RED)'s bold ideas to help us reach our goals."

The (RED)RUSH Games
(RED)RUSH Games, which is being powered by STiKS GAMING, will launch on June 1st, and will partner with the world's largest gaming Conference, E3, in LA. Gamers will have the chance to compete globally against each other and their favorite celebrities on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 – for prizes and prestige – in video games including EA's FIFA 12, NHL 12, 2K Sports' NBA2K12, KINECT Sports Season 2 and Forza Motorsport 4. Gamers will donate-to-play, and proceeds will benefit the Global Fund. Each gamer's profile page will allow them to keep track of their scores, overall tournament results and, most importantly, see the impact of their donation.

Celebrities and brands signed up include Kate Upton, Converse, Michelle Rodriguez, Funny or Die, Samantha Ronson, Bugaboo, Michael B Jordan, Kris Allen, Mophie, Scott Porter, Ryan Cabrera, FEED, Wayne Brady, Aldis Hodge, Al Shearer, Kerli, Andrew Bowen, Ray Ford, Electric Touch.

(RED)MUSIC
(RED)RUSH will engage music fans through (RED)ROWS, (RED) venues and the release of a single from the forthcoming album (RED) Hot + FELA. Artists are auctioning premium seats and exclusive packages to help fight AIDS in an initiative called (RED)ROWS. The first (RED)ROW auction will start on June 1st and end on June 10th and participating artists include Bryan Adams, The Black Keys, Leonard Cohen, Coldplay, Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, Death Cab for Cutie, The Killers, K'naan, Diana Krall, Maxwell, Tim McGraw, Metric, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Phish, Pink Martini, Punch Brothers, The Tragically Hip and The xx. (RED) has partnered with white-label ticketing provider CrowdSurge to unveil (RED)ROWS, a unique technology solution that enables artists to turn their shows (RED) by auctioning concert tickets.

Popular live music venues across the U.S. will also participate in (RED)Music, with promotions to drive funds and awareness to the 2015 goal. Venues include Stubbs in Austin, Metro in Chicago, Brooklyn Bowl in New York and The Paramount, Neptune and Moore Theaters in Seattle.

Additionally, during (RED)RUSH the first single from the forthcoming album (RED) Hot + FELA will debut – a remake of Fela Kuti's "Lady" by Angelique Kidjo, tUnE-yArDs, Akua Naru and Ahmir Questlove Thompson which will be released on June 1.

Cash & Rocket (RED) Tour
A group of 70 women – entrepreneurs, lawyers, designers, doctors, CEOs, models, architects, fashion stylists – will take to the roads of Europe in (RED) branded vintage and classic cars on the Cash & Rocket (RED) Tour from London to Monte Carlo. The caravan of (RED) cars including (RED) CEO Deborah Dugan, Dr Patricia Asamoah from Ghana, LOVE editor Katie Grand, Charlotte Stockdale, trip organizer Julie Brangstrup, model Lily Becker, sisters Jemma and Jodie Kidd, entrepreneur Umberta Beretta leaves London's Berkeley Square on June 7 and ends in Monte Carlo on June 10, with stops in Paris and Milan. At the Paris stop, Bugaboo will unveil its latest design collaboration. (RED) has partnered with Crowdrise, the online fundraising tool, which will allow the women to fundraise before and during the trip. The trip will end with an auction in Monte Carlo with all proceeds going to the Global Fund.

During (RED)RUSH, (RED) corporate partners will offer consumers ways to fight AIDS and to build on the $190 million raised to date. The organization's first Central and South American partnership will see wireless providers Telcel and Claro introducing (RED) wireless products in 15 countries including Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and Peru. (RED) will also launch two new partners – Tourneau will offer a (RED) collection of their Tourneau TNY watch and Bottletop will introduce (RED) versions of their iconic Luciana clutch bag and the unisex Kibe belt. (RED) partners include Apple, The Coca-Cola Company, Starbucks, Converse, Beats by Dr. Dre, Belvedere, Bugaboo, Nike, Penfolds, SAP and American Express, and they contribute up to 50% of the proceeds from the sale of (RED) products and services to help fight AIDS.

Beats by Dr. Dre will kick off the inaugural (RED)RUSH TO ZERO campaign with a party in their NYC store on June 2nd.

www.redrush.com

About (RED)™
(RED) engages business and consumer power in the fight against AIDS. To date, (RED) partners and events have generated over $190 million for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. This money supports Global Fund HIV/AIDS grants in Ghana, Lesotho, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, and Zambia. So far more than 14 million people have been reached with prevention, treatment, counselling, and care services through these grants. (RED) dollars are used to support programs that have helped provide life-saving antiretroviral therapy for 220,000 HIV-positive people, put 130,000 HIV-positive pregnant women on preventative antiretroviral therapy to reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmission and reached 13 million people with HIV testing and counselling. Current (RED) Proud Partners include: American Express (UK only), Apple, Beats by Dr. Dre, Belvedere, Bugaboo, Claro, The Coca-Cola Company, Converse, Nike, Penfolds, SAP, Starbucks and Telcel and Special Edition partners include: FEED, Girl Skateboards, Mophie, Nanda Home, Shazam, Solange Azagury-Partridge and TOUS. (RED) is a division of The ONE Campaign. On World AIDS Day 2010, (RED) launched "The AIDS Free Generation is Due in 2015" campaign. (RED) has joined is joining the global health community in raising funds and awareness to help eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV by 2015 and helping to realize the first AIDS-free generation in nearly thirty years. Learn more at www.joinred.com.

About The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
The Global Fund is a unique, public-private partnership and international financing institution dedicated to attracting and disbursing additional resources to prevent and treat HIV and AIDS, TB and malaria. This partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and affected communities represents an innovative approach to international health financing. The Global Fund's model is based on the concepts of country ownership and performance-based funding, which means that people in countries implement their own programs based on their priorities and the Global Fund provides financing on the condition that verifiable results are achieved.

Since its creation in 2002, the Global Fund has become the main financier of programs to fight AIDS, TB and malaria, with approved funding of US$ 22.6 billion for more than 1,000 programs in 150 countries (as of 1 December 2011). To date, programs supported by the Global Fund are providing AIDS treatment for 3.3 million people, anti-tuberculosis treatment for 8.6 million people and 230 million insecticide-treated nets for the prevention of malaria. The Global Fund works in close collaboration with other bilateral and multilateral organizations to supplement existing efforts in dealing with the three diseases.

SOURCE (RED)