the brilliance of branding: meet FNV

I may or may not have shouted from the rooftops that I was invited by my beloved Mocha Moms, Inc. to attend a media influencer event at the White House this week to discuss Mrs. Obama’s health and wellness initiative, Let’s Move. The event was great – an opportunity for 120 or so mom bloggers (invited by an array of media brands, including SheKnows, Babble and Cafe Mom) to hear from various stakeholders (i.e. USDA, Partnership for a Healthier America, HHS, etc.) and to take waaaaay too many selfies in front of various backgrounds in the East Wing. Three-time Olympian, Dominique Dawes, shared her story of having to change the way she ate and moved after she stopped competing, and also as an exhausted and busy mom of a toddler. I loved listening to her speak because she was down-to-earth, honest and FUNNY. We also had the treat of a cooking demo from Cris Comerford, the White House Executive Chef! She made her ‘Must-Have Mason Jar Tuscan Kale Salad’ (which she was tickled pink to say was inspired by Pinterest). The venue, the photo opps, the high-profile speakers…

It was a blogger’s dream.

Of course, the highlight was the remarks from the First Lady and she was as engaging and relatable as always. She shared her story of getting a wake up call when her daughters were younger and vowing to make healthy changes to their eating and activity habits. She also encouraged us to use our voices and platforms to spread the word about the small changes moms can make in their families’ food choices that will result in a major impact on decreasing obesity, heart disease, diabetes and more. As she said, in her house dessert went from being “a human right to an occasional treat that only happened on weekends.” If only I could convince my husband of that. HA.

But let me tell you what else shined – for me, anyway. Hearing from Ryan Shadrick Wilson, Chief Strategy Officer and General Counsel for the Partnership for a Healthier America. She explained that children see something like 5,500 commercials for junk foods on TV yearly and only about 700 for healthy foods. When it came to marketing fruits and veggies, it was a losing battle. So they decided to take a look at what kinds of things enticed children to ask their parents for the crappy foods. The answer? Branding!

Celebrity endorsements, snazzy logos, bright colors, catchy slogans and flashy ad campaigns are what makes candy and soda sexy. So, the PHA decided to ‘rebrand’ fruits and vegetables and give them their very own monster ad campaign. Meet FNV!