The Department of Health has produced a set of four TV advertisements as part of the 5-a-day programme to address barriers to eating fruit and vegetables and encourage people to 'Just Eat More (fruit & veg).'
The ads, (known as fillers) will be aired at no cost in donated airtime, in gaps between programmes on terrestrial (including BBC), digital and satellite channels, from August 2004 for a period of two to three years. Each filler depicts a different scenario targeting the key audiences identified as priorities for the 5-a-day programme - teenagers, parents and younger children.
The fillers are based on the following four themes:
• Gimme 5 (targeting teenagers). A basketball team plays with giant fruits and vegetables. The filler is available in 30 and 40 second formats
• Bruiser (targeting primary school children). This features two children playing a card game and competing for the highest '5-a-day score'. The filler is available in 30 and 60 second formats
• Market stall (targeting mums). This stresses that eating fruit and vegetables needn't be expensive or time consuming to prepare, and also portrays messages about the health benefits of eating fruit and vegetables. The filler is available in 10, 30, and 60 second formats
• Sell yourself (targeting mums with pre-school children). This features different fruits and vegetables, which sell themselves according to the different ways in which they can be eaten. This aims to emphasis what counts towards 5-a-day, and provide suggestions on how to increase consumption of fruit and vegetables as part of an existing diet. The filler is available in a 30 second format
Two 40-second radio fillers have also been produced, to be broadcast from August 2004 coinciding with the TV fillers.
A spokesperson from the DoH said: "Television advertising is well known for being highly effective in targeting people across all age groups and regions but has not been used traditionally to promote fruit and vegetables. We hope these TV fillers will help encourage people to eat more fruit and vegetables, by portraying the message that they don't have to be difficult to prepare or costly, and can help improve your long term health."
Information on the 5-a-day programme is available from the DoH website at www.dh.gov.uk/healthtopics
Posters, booklets and postcards are available free of charge from the DoH, which can be distributed to customers. Those interested in ordering resources should call 08701 555455.
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