Cause Related Marketing: The Cause comes First!

I heard some hubub about the Red Campaign while on the treadmill yesterday afternoon. It really bothered me to see how so much money has gone into building the brand compared to how much money is being raised to fight Aids in Africa. PSFK remarks that we're left thinking: all the marketing activity behind RED made you aware of the brand, not the underlying message of plight in Africa. If the combined marketing activity raised only $11 million and no one has been left better educated about African concerns, wouldn't it have been better to have just redirected the ad budget straight into the charity?  The LA times has another write up. Essentially the Red charity is so well known, but is not making much impact for all of its popularity. Moreover the brands that are supporting the campaign are receiving lots of positive publicity on the coat tails. I just wish the cause got more attention than the marketing.