(RE)
began in October 2006 as a quick response to consumer frenzy for red
t-shirts by The Gap. The shirts were produced as part of (Product)
RED, a cause-marketing product line giving a portion of proceeds to
fight AIDS in Africa, and featured a white INSPI(RED) text logo
across the front. Following an hour-long Oprah Winfrey Show
dedicated to (Product) RED and co-creator Bono, eBay became the only
marketplace consumers were able to purchase the red shirts, often at
2 to 3 times the retail price. While The Gap rushed to produce more
shirts, (RE) began offering an alternative - red thriftshop t-shirts
printed with INSPI(RE)D over any existing logo. EBay searches for
the shirts returned results for (RE) shirts in addition to (RED)
shirts.
As the 2006 holiday shopping season progressed,
(RE) expanded. Consumer demand for (RED) Apple iPods and Motorola
RAZR phones inspired COVE(RE)D, encouraging consumers to cover their
existing music players and phones with red vinyl. A third response
asked consumers to donate to and bid on a growing collection of
under-utilized red items auctioned as (RE)SALE.