• by Nina Lentini  @Nina_Lentini, February 7, 2007

The brains behind "Got Milk?" will try to work similar magic on the simple cherry.

Jeff Manning--chief architect of the milk campaign widely credited with reversing a long slide in milk sales--and Weber Shandwick Worldwide, Chicago, are launching a PR effort for the Cherry Marketing Institute that will spread the "superfruit" message through the media.

In addition to overhauling the institute's Web site, www.choosecherries.com, Manning and Weber Shandwick have designed a new logo and slogan: "Cherries. Not Just Another Berry."

The publicity drive will include a summary of 65 studies of cherries' health benefits, which Manning's team will pitch to nutrition experts and fitness magazines.

The institute, a grower-funded enterprise, doesn't have the financial muscle of the California Milk Processor Board ($22 million annual budget). What it does have is $1.2 million raised by cherry farmers through a 1-cent levy on each pound.

In the main, the institute wants to transform the reputation of tart cherries, from that of an ingredient in fattening desserts to a "superfruit" chock full of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties that set them apart, even from blueberries and cranberries.

Cherry sales have hit a downward trend over the past decade because of changing consumer preferences, crop damage from bad weather and higher European tariffs.

Michigan produces about 75% of the nation's tart cherries, followed by Utah and Washington state. Canadian growers also are supporting the health-food initiative, which goes public this week.