Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation Appoints Saatchi & Saatchi

NEW YORK, Nov. 2, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation (HWCF) has appointed New York ideas company Saatchi & Saatchi to handle the social media elements of the program designed to help American adults and children achieve a healthy weight and lifestyle through energy balance.

Executive Director of the HWCF Lisa Gable said that Saatchi & Saatchi has been invited to develop the creative program and implementation strategy for the program based on their experience in creating powerful communications for families and young people.

"Saatchi & Saatchi have a wealth of experience in developing and managing communications, and we felt their experience was highly aligned with the communities we wish to reach," said Ms. Gable.

Mary Baglivo, Chairman & CEO of the Americas at Saatchi & Saatchi, said the campaign would be highly involving.

"We want to create 'social health activism' alongside of what Michelle Obama is trying to accomplish with her "Let's Move" childhood obesity initiative," said Ms. Baglivo. "The emphasis needs to be on building participation by families and communities, leading to individuals making active healthy lifestyle choices."

For four years (2001-2004) Saatchi & Saatchi was the lead agency on the VERB™ campaign run by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) at the initiation of the U.S. Congress.  Concerned about childhood obesity and physical inactivity, Congress voted $340 million to fund a public health campaign that targeted children 9-13 years directly, and for the first time brought together the best practices in commercial marketing, social marketing, evaluation, and public health fields. The campaign evaluations and findings were published in a full issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine in June 2008.

About HWCF

The Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation (www.healthyweightcommit.org) is a first-of-its kind coalition that brings together more than 120 retailers, food and beverage manufacturers, restaurants, sporting goods and insurance companies, a professional sports organization, NGOs, trade associations, and the U.S. Army aimed at doing their part to help families reduce obesity, especially childhood obesity. The Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation has been working intensively to design initiatives that will help individuals build healthier habits into their daily lives.

About Saatchi & Saatchi

Saatchi & Saatchi New York (www.saatchiny.com) is the largest agency in the 140-office Saatchi & Saatchi global network, part of Publicis Groupe, the world's third largest communications group.  It handles Miller High Life and JCPenney as well as over 40 #1 brands in its client portfolio, including: Tide, Pampers and Olay (Procter & Gamble); Pillsbury and Cheerios (General Mills); Theraflu and Triaminic (Novartis).

Saatchi & Saatchi is known for its outstanding creative ideas that generate powerful emotional connections between consumers and products. This is a key element in Lovemarks, Saatchi & Saatchi's unique methodology for elevating the status of brands created to create "loyalty beyond reason" and "inspirational consumers."

SOURCE Saatchi & Saatchi