Government starts ad campaign to teach children how to play

WASHINGTON -- The federal agency that tracks anthrax and other killer microbes is spending at least $125 million to tell kids, nicely, to go outside and play.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is funding a national ad campaign to encourage children ages 9 to 13, called tweens, to be more physically active. The CDC hopes to set kids on the path to health now so they don't wind up later in its statistics on obesity, diabetes, heart disease and early death.

The ads use computer-generated kids' figures in which the bodies are formed of action verbs like "pass" and "slide." Later, ads will have real kids doing real racing and climbing, and also will feature celebrity athletes.

The first 15-second TV spots, with the tag line, "VERB. It's what you do," began running in June.

Promotion is being handled by Publicis Groupe, which includes the ad agencies Frankel, and Saatchi and Saatchi.

The spots are aimed at introducing the concept and getting tweens accustomed to the slogan, said Robert Balick, who oversees VERB ad development at Frankel. "The overall idea is that there is a whole world of activities out there for them to discover."

Kids in this age group are starting to make brand loyalty choices that will influence them for years to come, said Mike Greenwell, director of communications for CDC's chronic disease prevention program.

CDC's initial goal is seeding brand loyalty for physical activity just like corporations seed loyalty for hamburgers and video games. "It's a good time to compete with all the other messages directed at this age group, which, frankly, are encouraging kids to be more sedentary," Greenwell said.

Congress ordered the CDC to run the campaign, and provided $125 million for the first year of funding. The CDC, which is more famous for reams of disease statistics than fun and games, hired outside experts for the sales job.

The result is a full Madison Avenue campaign -- developing ads, buying airtime, doing publicity and market research, and creating and running a Web site, www.verbnow.com.

Another $68.5 million will be spent in the second year. After that, Congress will have to provide more money, Greenwell said.

As the campaign continues, random dialing telephone surveys will track how the message is getting through.

Tweens consider eating chips and watching TV to be fun, and the ads won't lecture them that couch-dwelling, high-fat living is bad for them, said Frankel creative director Dave Shea.

"What we cannot do is point a finger and say, 'You're getting diabetes,"' Shea said. "Kids play video games to get to the next level of fun. What we are trying to do is show that the next level of fun might be outside."

The campaign is buying time in tween-audience programming on networks such as Nickelodeon and MTV, and later will buy ads in magazines, billboards and other media.

The message should reach 85 percent of the tween market, said Publicis spokeswoman Lauren Russ.

The campaign will tie into school physical education and community events, Balick said. Separate ad campaigns will enlist parents and other adults in getting kids moving, Shea said.

The campaign ties into a White House crusade for a more active America. The Bush administration's HealthierUS initiative highlights previously issued federal recommendations that call for at least a half hour of activity daily for adults, and at least 60 minutes for children.

However, one media analyst doubts VERB, for all its marketing activity, will result in more active kids.

"You will notice (the ads), but it is not going to be a Burger King (ad)," said Ira Teinowitz, Washington bureau chief for the trade magazine Advertising Age.

"It is going to be very difficult to motivate kids to do things that they would not ordinarily do," Teinowitz said.

It's too early to tell how successful VERB will be, Teinowitz said. But the White House has tried hard to sell kids on staying away from drugs, and there are questions about whether that campaign worked, he said.