Posts Tagged ‘Virgin Mobile’

Responsible or not? Stripping for charity

Tuesday, July 15th, 2008

Strip2Chothe - You take off yours, we donate ours

Using social media to create social good is a good thing. But it’s never quite that easy, is it?

Strip2Clothe is a new Virgin Mobile promotion where anyone can submit “fun by not salacious” videos of themselves stripping in order to help clothe homeless youth.

From the Virgin Mobile YouTube channel:

Strip2Clothe is Virgin Mobile’s initiative to provide BRAND NEW clothing to homeless youth across the country. At Strip2Clothe.com, people (virtually) give the shirts off their backs to help homeless kids. Believe it or not, a set of new clothes can be an important first step towards getting off the streets and transitioning into a stable life.

By outfitting homeless kids with new clothing, we hope this basic necessity provides the confidence for them to stay in or return to school, apply for jobs, pursue mentors, and seek safe, healthy environments.

So, don’t just ‘take it off’ — take it ON — and show America’s homeless youth that you’re brave enough to help.

Here’s one of the most popular videos to date. Don’t worry, it won’t get you fired if you are at work.

As you might guess, this campaign has raised hackles for a number of reasons:

  • It’s targeted to youth
  • Many homeless youth are sexually exploited
  • Some homeless advocates are saying homeless kids need shelter and safety more than they need clothing
  • A number of the 150 organizations supporting homeless youth weren’t aware of the nature of the promotion and have found it distasteful
  • The videos are screened and no full nudity is allowed. To date, 64,417 donations have been made.

    But it is stripping, and it is teenagers.

    So, is Virgin Mobile’s Strip2Clothe responsible or not?

    Comment below to share your thoughts.

    . . .

    Post inspired by Striptease clothing drive enrages local charities: Web campaign encourages young people to post videos by Chen May Yee, The Minneapolis Star Tribune

    On photonapping and double standards

    Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008

    Take a picture.

    From software license audits to record labels suing teenagers’ parents for downloading music through a file sharing services, corporate America is working overtime to protect its intellectual property rights.

    Just in the last week, the blogosphere was abuzz with news that Ford had asked the Black Mustang Club to cease and desist from using photos of their member’s cars in a club calendar. Ford was asleep at the wheel on this one, folks. As it turns out, Ford didn’t want their logo to be used on club products. But it sure started a conversation.

    Or should I say added fuel to it. On January 9th, the Washington Post published “Hey, isn’t that…” an article about “photonapping.”

    Basically, personal photos on Flickr are being used without permission by some irresponsible corporate marketers in an attempt to be more authentic.

    Virgin Mobile, HBO, Fox and even our friends at Microsoft were all cited in the article as offenders. The most common defense: the intern did it.

    If the double-standard doesn’t irk you on this one, the lack of accountability will.

    What do you think?