A Cast of Thousands (of Dollars for Wounded Soldiers)

This is what I call turning lemons into lemonade: Stephen Colbert broke his wrist when he had a spill during a audience warm-up. Instead of wearing a flesh-colored cast and downplaying his injury on camera, Colbert made comic hay out of his predicament. He even got his audience--and Brian Williams--to flaunt "WristStrong" bracelets to raise "wrist injury awareness" in a "WristWatch" campaign. Lest you think this is a cynical joke at the expense of cause-related merchandise programs, all proceeds from the sales of WristStrong bracelets to the Yellow Ribbon Fund, which assists injured service members and their families while they recuperate at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center by offering free cab vouchers, hotel rooms, apartments, rental cars, job mentoring, internships, and tickets to sporting and cultural events. Now that Colbert's cast is off, it's on the eBay block; last I checked, the bid was upwards of $11,000. The cast is signed by Nancy Pelosi, Michael Bloomberg, Brian Williams, Katie Couric, and Colbert's idol, Bill O'Reilly. (Bidding ends on September 3rd.)

As far as I am aware, this is the first cause-related-marketing campaign that pokes fun of cause-related marketing. At the same time, it follows all the rules of CRM; Colbert picked a cause that fits the super-patriotic persona of his alter ego, while burnishing his brand and actually helping wounded soldiers and their families. The tongue is planted firmly in cheek, but the heart is in the right place. Only Colbert could get away with it. Now hurry up and bid on the wrist cast.