• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, September 8, 2008

As kindergartners through grade six kids pick up their books and get back to learning, the National Football League (NFL) and the National Dairy Council (NDC) want kids, parents and teachers to keep good health and nutrition in mind.

The NFL and NDC unveiled a plan Friday to market a healthy lifestyle to America's youth. The five-year commitment, at a combined price of $250 million, aims to combat childhood obesity with fitness and nutrition. This initiative inspires youth to choose more nutritious foods, increase physical activity and motivate their friends to do the same. The program, launching this fall, targets 40,000 schools nationwide in the first year with additional guidelines in a "playbook" being tested in select but still undetermined cities.

The playbook will serve as a guide for students and adult advisors in leading the program in their schools by providing tools and resources--such as an interactive Web site--needed to change students' personal health and school environments. Kids gain incentives/awards by participating in playbook activities. A spokeswoman for the NDC says the full program will launch nationwide in 2009.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that 32% of America's youth are overweight, and 70% of overweight kids will become overweight adults.

Robert Passikoff, founder and president of the marketing research firm Brand Keys, says the campaign has a better chance of working than traditional public service ads. Take the "Got Milk?" campaign, created by ad agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners for the California Milk Processor Board, for example. It did well, but not great, he says. "It was wonderfully configured and generated awareness," but it's not clear that it increased sales--the main objective for advertising, marketing and branding campaigns.

Basing the potential success of the campaign on related metrics, Passikoff says having good health has increased in importance for kids as young as 13. Add America's national sport--football--and the physically fit players who make it all happen, and kids have a tendency to want to emulate what they see.

As part of the program, the NFL and the NDC will motivate kids to adopt healthier lifestyles by choosing foods that are low in fat, as well as fat-free dairy products, fruits and vegetables and whole grains. They also encourage kids to commit to 60 minutes of physical activity every day. Schools also are encouraged to introduce students to positive changes by adding physical activity and youth-appealing, nutritious foods, which the NDC defines as low- and fat-free milk products, fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

The NDC plans to make the marketing initiative part of a longstanding program focused on health and wellness in and outside of schools and to rely on child health expertise from organizations such as Action for Healthy Kids for advice for projects.

The latest efforts by the NDC and the NFL build on the 3-A-Day of Dairy and NFL Play 60: The NFL Movement for an Active Generation program designed to educate Americans on the health benefits of consuming three servings of milk, cheese or yogurt a day. NFL Play 60 encourages kids and their families to "get up and play an hour a day." The Web sites at www.nflrush.com and www.3aday.org offer kids games and tips on nutrition.