Did you read the one about...
Did you read the one about....... the tender for WA's health promoting vegie man?The Department of Health in Western Australia launched one of its most successful campaigns in April this year in an effort to encourage West Australians to include more fruit and vegetables in their diets.
At the new Go for 2 and 5 campaign launch, Department of Health Nutrition and Physical Activity Program Manager Christina Pollard said that two out of three Western Australians wrongly believed they are eating enough fruit and vegetables.
On average, WA adults only eat 2.6 serves of vegetables and 1.6 serves of fruit per day. The Department of Health recommends eating at least 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit for good health. Research shows that people who have diets high in fruit and vegetables have substantially lower risks of coronary heart disease, stroke, some cancers, hypertension, type two diabetes and cataracts.
The aim of the $530,000 State-wide Go for 2 and 5 campaign is to encourage people to eat more vegetables and highlights how easy it is to add extra serves to meals.
A set of Go for 2 & 5 television commercials featuring the "Vegie Man" with the voice of Aristos the Surprise Chef, is supported by outdoor, shopping centre and point-of-sale advertising, consumer information, recipe booklets and food demonstrations....and includes guest appearances at various events by "Vegie Man" himself, the campaign mascot.
Elisha Willams from Character Creations won the tender to make the "Vegie Man" costume and says that designing and making the suit required alot of work trialling each piece prior to submitting the final creation.
"The face and hands had already been decided for the television commercial," said Elisha, "so I had to design a body to match and then build the entire costume."
Elisha is delighted with "Vegie Man" and believes he is making significant impact along with the supporting promotional activities in the quest for more fruit and vegie consumption in the West.
