Not a paid review

A heart-warming message arrived this morning on a bulletin board that I read:

Today, Bristol-Myers Squibb, the pharmaceutical monolith that charges nearly $1,000 for a 30 day supply of one of its HIV/AIDS medications, is donating $1 to the National AIDS Fund for each person who simply visits their website and "virtually lights a candle."

My, you think, how noble and generous they are  — as you are intended to think. Well, think again my dears. As of midday CET the message is very different. The website now reads:

Thank you for lighting a candle to support the fight against HIV/AIDS... As a result, we are proud to honour our commitment to donate $100,000 to the National AIDS Fund to continue their vital work with those most impacted by this disease.

Pah. They are donating the annual turnover from eight patients. Well whoop-de-fucking-do.

As of 14:25 CET the count stands at 1,448,381 candles. They are donating 6.9 cents per candle-lighter, not a dollar.

BM-S paid its shareholders 2.18 billion dollars in dividends in 2005. (It's on page 120 of their annual report.) That is 1509 dollars per candle-lighter.

BM-S turned a nett profit of 3 billion dollars last year (page 116). The donation is equal to the profit they earn every 17.5 minutes.

BM-S spent 509 million dollars on advertising in 2005 (page 83). The donation is equal to the amount they spend on advertising every two hours.

I am glad that they are donating money to the National AIDS Fund, and even more so that they are supporting clinics and healthcare centres in Africa and Asia (pages 6-7). I am disappointed that the amount is so trivially small, and offended that they clearly expect me to be awed by their sensitivity and wholesomeness. Pah.