Last year, we laughed when a fake Silicon Valley startup released a shiny, branded commercial for carrots. Now it looks like that parody is about to become a reality. Partnership for a Healthier America and Michelle Obama's Let's Move initiative will attempt to rebrand fruits and vegetables with a new marketing campaign, the Associated Press reports.
The campaign, which launched today, is calling itself FNV — a "hip" acronym for "fruits 'n' vegetables." AP reports that while FNV will have its own website, the campaign will function primarily on social media. Its YouTube and Twitter accounts will feature videos like the one above, where celebrities like Jessica Alba and NFL wide receiver Victor Cruz champion the benefits of eating fresh produce.
FNV is a cool kid's fruits and vegetables
Partnership for a Healthier America has recruited the marketing company Victors and Spoils, whose client list includes Smirnoff, Adidas, and Coca-Cola, to helm the campaign.
"Obviously, our inspiration for all this was behaving like a big, iconic brand," Andrew Nathan, chief marketing director at Victors and Spoils, told the AP. Corporate food companies and their persistent branding has a real influence on young people's diets, and FNV plans to mimic those advertising tactics to convince its audience that fruits and vegetables are just as cool as fast food.
In the words of an animated teaser on the FNV website, "Fruits and vegetables are now a brand."
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