Bono uses celebs to lure AIDS donations
Would you like to spend quality time with George Clooney? How about walk a red carpet with Meryl Streep or visit the set of Game of Thrones?
They are all possible: Bono is a launching an all-star campaign featuring “once-in-a-lifetime experiences” that can be won after donating at least $10 to his organization (RED), which raises funds to fight AIDS. The campaign kicks off Tuesday, World AIDS Day.
And Bono isn’t just the face for the movement: The U2 frontman will go on a bike ride with one donor, a year after he was seriously injured in a bike accident in New York’s Central Park that forced him into surgery.
“I’m not sure that was as funny to my band as it was to me,” Bono said in an interview. “But I think we’re going to have fun and yeah, we’ll go visit the scene of the crime.”
R&B singer the Weeknd is offering fans a chance to hang backstage at a concert; there is a one-day “wellness break” with Snoop Dogg in Colorado; and Ryan Seacrest will let someone announce the No. 1 song on his radio show.
Jimmy Kimmel is dedicating his Tuesday late-night show to the campaign. He and Olivia Wilde will host “SHOPATHON,” a tongue-in-check play on home shopping, and the special episode will feature celebrity guests such as Tom Brady, who is offering one donor a chance to learn how to pass a football, and Shaquille O’Neal, who will take a photo with a winner for his or her 2016 holiday card.
And Kimmel is offering to give someone’s kid “the talk.”
Other “experiences” that can be earned after donating on Omaze.com/RED include a contour makeover with Kim Kardashian; a portrait painting by James Franco; or attending a University of Texas at Austin football game with alum Matthew McConaughey. Entries close on Jan. 21. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will match every dollar raised up to $20 million (U.S.).