OpenIDEO - How can we raise kids' awareness of the benefits of fresh food so they can make better choices? - Inspiration - Grab Kids Attention in the Vegetable Aisle!

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How can we raise kids' awareness of the benefits of fresh food so they can make better choices?

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Grab Kids Attention in the Vegetable Aisle!

Parents drag kids through the produce aisle as they enter the grocery store. So why not use the opportunity to show kids the connection between some of their favorite book and cartoon characters and the healthy vegetables, dairy and eggs that inspired them?

There is an opportunity in the vegetable aisle rarely taken advantage of. Advertising to kids! There are countless children's books, cartoons and movies that center their story around farm animals, vegetables, fruits, etc. So why not use the opportunity to draw kids attention to the good stuff behind the stories? Chicken Little or Chicken Run could have advertised on egg cartons. Even printing the chicken's names on the eggs helping to carry the movie's story home to the kitchen. Ads for Ratatouille could feature the vegetables used in the recipe. Once kids make the connection from the movie to the actual ingredients in the traditional dish, they might want mom or dad to make it for them. Veggie Tales ads next to cucumbers and tomatoes. Every book about a cow could be featured on the side of a milk carton. Publishers and movie companies could benefit from the cross-over advertising opportunity and grocers (and farmers) could benefit from the new interest from kids. And the ad dollars.

Comments

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Megan Moynahan

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September 12, 2010, 03:58PM

I like this idea a lot - I think it would be great to have something similar that appeals to the tween-set and even teenagers. I saw an earlier post about having "NikeFresh" labels on some foods, and I think that would be really appealing to older kids and adults. And -- to the comment by Jen, below -- if Nike (or Pixar, or whomever) doesn't want to sponsor big displays in the produce aisle, couldn't they just create slap-on labels for moms to affix to bananas and apples at home? I mean, who says this has to be a big production?

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Demian Repucci

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September 06, 2010, 04:04AM

Ching, thanks for your comment. Very cool idea and use of technology! I like the thought of adding to the connection for kids by making the vegetable aisle interactive. I developed a concept based on this inspiration found here: http://openideo.com/open/how-might-we-give-children-the-knowledge-to-eat-better/concepting/grab-kids-attention-in-the-vegetable-aisle/

In regard to the Ratatouille concept, the advertising for the movie could incorporate the Hidden Park method and have the kids participate in a game where they seek out each of the ingredients in the ratatouille recipe and, upon locating each one, also discover a character from the movie in a secret video clip giving information about that vegetable or a fun story or a bit of history, etc. In addition the hidden characters could offer clues to a larger puzzle that the kids then have to go online to engage in. This could then be a gateway into getting the kids to interact with, not only the movie or book that is being promoted, but also a larger community of kids learning about healthy eating. Good stuff. Thanks again!

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Ching Tan

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September 05, 2010, 05:43PM

Could we make this more interactive and apply augmented reality?

There is an app on the iphone called Hidden Park

The Hidden Park is an iPhone adventure game created especially for young families. The application uses all the features of the iPhone to lead children into a fantasy world of trolls, fairies and tree genies - right in their local park!

http://www.thehiddenpark.com/about

Because of its interactive experience and it motivates children to move in the park. Could we apply this the placement of characters? If you put two items together they would then be able to interact. Creating a new experience for the children.

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Demian Repucci

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August 25, 2010, 03:14PM

Thanks Nathan! I just posted the concept version of this inspiration. The system wouldn't let me bookmark my own inspirations (maybe I should have clicked 'build on this'?) But you can find the concept here http://tinyurl.com/336dxcy Thanks again!

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Nathan Waterhouse

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August 23, 2010, 07:12PM

Hi

This is a great idea, please think about how you could iterate on it for the concepting phase and resubmit it in that part of the challenge timeline!

Thanks

Nathan

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Jen Hallgren

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August 22, 2010, 01:26PM

These are great ideas. (Might also make the shopping experience fun for us 'bigger' kids.

A few things to think about.
Who is going to pay for this? Most of the grocery stores have their own advertising campaigns and many of the product/produce companies might not want the added expense. And, how willing would grocery stores be to add this marketing mix to their own (internal) campaigns (which may clash)?

Taking this route could be fantastic for the kids.

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Elis Cordova

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August 21, 2010, 03:23AM

It's all about how they sell fresh products. If they used a more kid oriented campaign maybe kid would at least be aware of the existence of veggies. Maybe Include a surprise toy or something that would encourage the kids to ask their parents to buy them veggies and fruits.

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Eddie Pratt

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August 20, 2010, 09:35AM

I really like this idea. Something that would be nice too is for children to 'copy' their parents. Parents show their healthy ways. Let's have miniature versions of all the fruit and vegetables so that the children feel that they belong to them. Mom has a a large carrot, child has mini carrot, etc. Mom has a bell pepper, child has a mini bell pepper - their very own. And for fun, perhaps competitions run by the stores/producers for children to send in their funny-shaped vegetables.

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