A cadre of celebrities have appeared in a new campaign for One: The Campaign to Make Poverty History. The television commercial, which debuted on MTV and ABC April 10, features Bono, Cameron Diaz, Penelope Cruz, Brad Pitt and Al Pacino pointing out global poverty and other epidemics. The ad, which closes with the tagline “We’re not asking for your money. We’re asking for your voice,: directs viewers to One’s website, a clearing hose for a collection of organizations headed by Bono’s Debt Aids Trade Africa. Claiming the campaign is not about money is a bit of a misnomer given this statement on the One website which reads, “We believe that allocating an additional ONE percent of the U.S. budget toward providing basic needs like health, education, clean water and food, would transform the futures and hopes of an entire generation of the poorest countries.” OK, so it’s the government’s money but you know whose pocket that comes from.
while there’s no question action is needed to fend off poverty and other worldly ailments but these celebrity focused ads just rub the wrong way. Viewing these commercials makes one want to scream, “Dude, just hand over 90 percent of your salary to those who need it and stop preaching!” Granted, no one should be penalized for making a lot of money and it’s been proved celebrities are effective at shining the light on the world’s problems but it still doesn’t feel right.
