• by Tanya Gazdik , September 15, 2011

Kaiser Permanente has launched an ad campaign encouraging consumers to improve their health by finding their "thing."

Created by Warren, Mich.-based Campbell Ewald, the work is based on research that found the key to sticking with an exercise regimen is motivation, and that occurs when people activate three components, finding the reason, partner and activities that move them to a healthier lifestyle.

The new work taps into the common phenomenon that we put off until tomorrow what we should do today. For example, in the TV spot "Find Your Thing," a well-intentioned health "newbie" endures a trial-and-error process of finding the exercise that fits her best.

The campaign continues to use the Oakland, Calif.-based health care insurance provider's "Thrive" tagline, introduced in 2004. The integrated campaign launched across media channels in regional markets on Sept.12, with TV airing in spot markets on shows such as "Dancing with the Stars," "Glee," "Grey's Anatomy," "Modern Family" and "Private Practice."

Print ads will run in regional editions of Better Homes & Gardens, Cooking Light, Sunset, Time, Newsweek and National Geographic. Web ads will appear on sites including foodnetwork.com, meredith.com, aol.com, gsn.com and tasteofhome.com. Mobile ads will appear on sites including pandora.com, mapmyfitness.com, and graystripe.com.

The campaign also features out-of-home placements that include bus wraps, billboards and food trucks, as well as eight radio spots.

The campaign helps elevate Kaiser's brand message from health advocacy to health activation, says Christine Paige, senior vice president of brand marketing at Kaiser Permanente, in a release. "Improving one's health is highly personalized and Kaiser Permanente wants to provide the tools and resources to not only help people get started, but stay with their health and wellness programs," she says.

Meanwhile, a national study reveals that parents have a harder time talking to their teens about their weight than about sex or drugs.

The national "Raising Fit Kids" study was conducted as part of "fit," a program developed by Sanford Health and WebMD to deliver specialized children's health, nutrition and wellness resources to consumers and healthcare professionals.

Fit (www.fit.webmd.com) aims to promote health and wellness and preventing childhood obesity among kids ages 2-18. The program focuses equally on the four key contributing factors to childhood obesity risk: Food (nutritional fitness); Move (physical fitness); Mood (emotional fitness); and Recharge (restorative fitness).

The study finds that, while around one in 20 parents of teens report struggling with the subjects of alcohol, drugs and smoking and about one in 10 are uncomfortable talking with their teens about sex, nearly a quarter of parents are hesitant to talk to their teens about being overweight.

Many parents of kids ages 8-17 may be avoiding the subject of weight altogether. More than one in five parents admit they have never brought up the subject of maintaining a healthy weight to their kids, despite more than one-third say that being overweight poses an immediate health risk to their kids. According to the American Heart Association, about one in three American kids and teens are overweight or obese.