Cause Marketing

Henkel, the large German consumer products and adhesives company has come in for some criticism in these pages for stingy cause marketing payouts and even bad copyediting. I’ve got more criticism this time out, only of the constructive variety. Through the end of September 2011 Henkel is running a contest to find the best ideas to improve school fitness in America and get a shot at three $10,000 prizes awarded to one elementary, one middle, and one high school. Here’s how it works: Enter your school at Henkelhelps.com. Then work your social network to get the most votes from the public. The cause is called Alliance for a Healthier Generation , founded by the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation. The mission of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation is to “Help cultivate a healthier generation of children today so that we will have a healthier America tomorrow.” The Alliance keeps a database of fitness approaches on its website. Large cash prizes...

Right now DNA II, a custom art company believe it or not, would like you to kiss off. When you do they’ll make a donation to the MAC Aids Fund; enough to purchase 1000 condoms for distribution in India or 14 HIV test kits in Haiti . Here’s how it works. You purchase one of DNA II’s KISS Portraits online, which start at $290 USD for a 51cm X 51cm (20”x20”) canvas print. They send you a tube of MAC Viva Glam lipstick and a bunch of KISS image sheets. You return the sheet you prefer and a few weeks later you get a portrait of your lips on a canvas suitable for hanging in the colors you specified. DNA II, which operates out of Ottawa , Ontario , Canada and sells worldwide, started by selling portraits of your DNA. They send you a cheek swab they turn into a colorized version of the lines biologists use to designate your DNA. They also sell a fingerprint… um … print that they blow-up from your... er ... fingerprints. Baked into the DNA of the company's corporate culture is c...