Aldo and Hollywood Fight AIDS

Fashionable campaign raises awareness

What do Pink, Avril Lavigne, and Benji and Joel Madden have in common? They’ve all been spotted wearing the Aldo Empowerment Tag.

The trendy, leather-strapped tags, stamped with the word See, Hear or Speak, make a bold statement about one’s commitment to the fight against HIV/AIDS.

For the second year in a row, Aldo (famous for its shoes and accessories) and 21 international celebrities have teamed up with YouthAIDS in an effort to battle the global epidemic of HIV/AIDS. The campaign aims to spread awareness and raise funds for programs around the world.

You can join the fight and spread the word with the purchase of your own Empowerment Tag ($5, at Aldo locations across Canada).

Last year, the campaign raised over $1 million and helped to educate and protect over 100,000 lives from infection in more than 60 countries.

Robert Hoppenheim, general manager of branding and strategic development at Aldo, says the reaction has been incredible and proves that the message is breaking through to today’s youth. “To build on this momentum, we have crafted a second iteration of the campaign that is deliberately edgier than the first,” says Hoppenheim. “Young people from many different backgrounds are most at risk and we felt it necessary to amplify the message regarding HIV/AIDS in a way that would speak meaningfully to this generation.”

YouthAIDS is a global charity that uses theatre, media, music, fashion and sports to spread the message to the world’s youth on how to protect and prevent HIV/AIDS while spreading awareness.

For more information about the campaign go to www.youthaids-aldo.org.

Ariel Weber

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