Dear First Lady,

Firstly, I applaud you for bringing the well being of this nation’s children and the growing issue of childhood obesity back into the forefront of importance at a federal level. Secondly, I ask that you bring VERB back!  I’ll share my thoughts here given my years of experience working on the VERB campaign.  Critically acclaimed and loved by kids, VERB (from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention) demonstrated an increase in physically activity in tweens, only to be ended when funds were shut off in 2006. I may be a little biased since I worked on the campaign, but the results back it up. And I am convinced that VERB can be successful once again.

VERB was a five year campaign funded by the government that treated physical activity in tweens (ages 9-13) like a product. CDC and their marketing agencies (one of which was Frankel, where I was employed)packaged play like a product and kids bought it, over and over again. VERB was an integrated campaign that used all avenues to surround kids: broadcast, digital, promotions, word-of-mouth, viral, school/community-based-organizations, events/mobile tours, magazines, public relations, partnerships and more. Campaign funds were slated to end in the fall of 2006.

Support and results for the campaign’s success were staggering towards the end of the five-year run. A study in the medical journal Pediatrics, reported that kids who saw the VERB campaign reported one-third more physical activity during their free time than kids who hadn’t seen VERB. A Youth Media Campaign Longitudinal Survey found that children who saw VERB in 2004 maintained the same level of physical play that they had during 2002 while activity dropped among children who didn’t see the campaign (BRANDWEEK 10/24/05). A CNN headline News article stated that “If you want the kids to get outside and exercise, market physical activity like companies sell toys... a new survey shows that the CDC’s national ad campaign VERB is working.”  The Wall Street Journal called the VERB campaign “surprisingly effective” (WSJ, 9/5/06). The Institute of Medicine recommended continuing the VERB health promotion and ad campaign (USA Today 9/13/06).

When funding stopped, childhood obesity didn’t.  The perils and predictions of childhood obesity continued to make headlines.  The Institute of Medicine released a report that estimated about 20% of children in the USA would be obese by 2010 if dramatic steps weren’t taken to halt childhood obesity (USA Today 9/13/06). At the end of the VERB campaign, the government stated that fitness initiatives on a state level were a “more efficient way to get the message out” (TIME 6/23/08). While I understood that natural disasters and the war required funds, childhood obesity was a problem that wouldn’t solve itself, so I like others questioned the end of VERB.

Critics, public health experts, medical and education staff, and many others agreed - VERB worked and should continue. Alas, funds didn’t come through.  It was the hope of many that others would pick up where VERB left off. 

Well here it is January 2010. And yes the problem persists.   While the obesity rates are holding, nearly one third of kids are obese (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/13/health/main6091820.shtml). Another repeat of a stat from a previous decade: an obese teenager has a greater than 70% risk of becoming an obese adult (The Surgeon General's Vision for a Healthy and Fit Nation 2010).  These are some of the same stats the CDC utilized to create the federal initiative to increase physical activity in tweens and combat childhood obesity which became VERB. One corporate partner of VERB did continue, the NFL. Their program, NFL 60 PLAY, has had some success but it is not enough.  State run initiatives, such as the ones in Indiana and California, don’t seem to be an effective way to increase physical activity. Additionally, school PE programs are basically non-existent. We need a federal program with funds behind it, so thank you First Lady for making this a project of yours.

I urge you to consider relaunching VERB. VERB is a health campaign with proven success. VERB’s integrated media/marketing platform and partnerships were successful then and can be again. VERB has a branding strategy, marketing strategies and tactics that worked in the past and can work again today. Kids are fickle, what one day is “hot” is not the next day.  But imagine the brand advocates we already have for VERB! Those tweens that knew VERB in 2002-2006 are now teenagers.  Tweens look up to teenagers, so let’s harness that power to get tweens and teens physically active one more time with VERB. 

VERB is an action word. It literally is ‘what you do.’ VERB is a brand for kids, by kids. Kids are encouraged to find their VERB - skate, jump, dance, kick. It could be anything that gets their bodies moving, having fun and just playing.  VERB levels the playing field to show kids there is no wrong way to play and no right place to play. Play is anytime, anywhere. We could spark the imaginations of children one more time. We would aid in exploration, discovery and idea generation. We could fuel dreams once again.  VERB inspires activity and changes behavior. Let’s do it one more time!  

First Lady to Focus on Obesity, AAF-Government Report: 1/22/10 http://www.aaf.org/default.asp?id=1098

In an address to many of the nation's mayors, First Lady Michelle Obama said that she would soon announce a major administration initiative to address childhood obesity. While she gave no specifics, she said the initiative would not consist of commands from Washington to state and local governments and businesses. Rather, it would be to launch strategies to help restore physical and nutrition education in schools and to provide communities better access to quality foods including fresh fruits and vegetables.

First Lady to Announce Obesity Plans, AAF-Government Report: 1/29/10

First Lady Michelle Obama, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin have announced plans to address the growing problem of overweight and obesity in adults and children.

The First Lady has said she will soon launch a major initiative on childhood obesity. In her first release to the nation as Surgeon General Dr. Benjamin has made public The Surgeon General's Vision for a Healthy and Fit Nation. Among its recommendations are limiting television time and limitations of advertisements of less healthy foods and beverages. It is unclear at this time if this second item is a call for governmental mandates or a statement of support for the food and advertising industries' self–regulatory Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative.