The Super Bowl has become one of the most watched annual television events in the United States, bringing everyone together in celebration, even if it’s just for a few hours. It has been estimated that over 100 million viewers are expected to tune into the Fox Network’s broadcast of the big game where the Denver Broncos will take on the Seattle Seahawks at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey this Sunday. Between the lavish parties being thrown, the large menu of food being devoured, the halftime show starring Bruno Mars, the actual game, and the commercials, many will be glued to their television sets come Super Sunday. With all eyes on the big game, advertisers will be lining up to spend hefty amounts of money for their advertisements.
An iconic and legendary band banking on the allure of the game’s advertising through commercials will be U2, showcasing their music and bringing an important cause to front and center.
The Super Bowl commercial will be introducing a new partnership between the Bank of America and (RED), a non-profit organization co-founded by Bono and Bobby Shriver. (RED) supports The Global Fund and is dedicated to eradicating AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. The (RED) campaign works hard to raise awareness and funds through product marketing in order to help deliver the first AIDS free generation in over 30 years to our world and future.
As reported by Billboard, the song will premiere in a brief commercial featuring an edited version of the band’s music video during the Super Bowl. Fans will have the chance to download the track “Invisible” exclusively on iTunes for free from 6pm ET on Super Sunday through 11:59 PM ET, the following Monday. To sweeten the deal, Bank of America will be donating $1USD for each download (up to $2 million), in addition to pledging $8 million to the charity. As of now, one of the primary goals of (RED) and the global fund is to eradicate mother-to-child transmissions of HIV by the year 2015, in line with the UN Millennium Development Goals. Since founding (RED), Bono and Shriver have helped to generate more than $240 million for The Global Fund with the help of their partners from Apple, Gap, Microsoft, Nike, Converse, and many others.
“We’re taking all the energy around the Super Bowl and interest in what U2′s doing and flipping it into the fight against HIV AIDS,” Bono tells USA Today yesterday. The band’s readiness to premiere their single to a football dominant audience says much about the diversity of viewers in attendance. While the NFL and football fans are sure to watch for the championship game, the halftime show and excitement for the commercials will certainly have the attention of many non-football fans as well.
As reported in USA Today, Bono says that the (RED) campaign wanted to collaborate with the Bank of America because he wanted to share how extraordinary Americans have been in helping with the fight against AIDS. The parent organization to (RED) is the ONE Campaign, an organization dedicated to ending poverty. They have determined that nearly seven million lives have been saved by donations from the United States to the Global Fund and the PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) established under former President George W. Bush.
Fans got to hear some new music from U2–the first in three years–care of their musical contribution to the Nelson Mandela biopic, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. The band took home the Golden Globe for Best Song for “Ordinary Love” earlier this year and are big contenders in the same category at next month’s Oscars.
In the meantime, if you’re looking forward to some new music from U2, tune in this Sunday during the Super Bowl and find out how you can download “Invisible” for free for only 24 hours! The commercial is sure to be amongst the most talked-about spots this year!
If we can deeply realize that this present moment is all we have, what better time to begin the end of AIDS than now? The clock is ticking.
To learn more about (RED), visit them at their official website. For more information on where you can download “Invisible” on iTunes during the Super Bowl, visit Connect4RED.
ETA: Download the track for free here on iTunes!
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