Idol Charity

American Idol is America's most watched TV show, but I've never been a fan. It has to do with the show's tendency to degrade and berate performers, which is all part of the schtick. Frankly, it's a sad commentary on our increasingly judgemental and image conscious society. I worry about the impact shows like Idol have on bullying and the further alienation of kids who are "different," but that's a different topic for a different day.

Today I'm writing about American Idol bccause of this week's "charity" special, which raised $30 million for impoverished young people in Africa and the United States. The show's sponsors- Coke, Ford and AT&T- each pledged an undisclosed donation for each vote cast by viewers. Once votes reached 50 million, News Corp (which owns the Fox Television Network) chipped in another $5 million. Even stars like Bono, Madonna and Ellen lent their voices to the cause.

The show was unique- perhaps mainly becuase it got me to watch- but it demonstrates how the growing trend of cause marketing has reached a mainstream pinnacle of sorts. It used to be that advertisers asked "what more can we be doing" to stand out, but the inevitable pressure of keeping up has caused even the most vain show in America to rethink it's image, asking itself "why aren't we doing that?"

It makes sense that we should give back once we've attained a certain level. Idol's foray into cause marketing is genuinely laudable, but perhaps it's also a testament to the increasing relevance of cause marketing when adopted by one of the slickest and most commercially successful shows of all time.