Provocation before information
Health: Jung von Matt/Limmat is taking on Switzerland. This is also sparking debate.
Health Jung von Matt/Limmat wants to get to the heart of Switzerland. For companies in the USA, it is now normal to offer special products for overweight people. If Switzerland continues to gain weight as it has done so far, this development will not stop at our young population. One third of the adult population and one fifth of the young population are already overweight. Jung von Matt/Limmat was therefore commissioned by the Swiss Health Promotion Foundation to raise awareness of the issue of obesity with a poster, advertisement and TV spot. The central message is: "It takes little to change a lot." To this end, the ads specifically draw attention to the website www.gesundheitsfoerderung.ch. There are various tips on this prevention campaign.
In a TV commercial, a father struggles with his child's excess weight on a seesaw. The child is heavier than he is, so he can't swing at all. Yet it would take very little for the child to have fun again. "It takes little to change a lot," is the message here too, with a reference to the website.
This slogan has not only triggered joy among obesity specialists. They complain that "a lot" rather than "a little" is needed to lose weight. Moreover, the Foundation for Health Promotion did not involve them in the planning. The medical specialists believe that the images make fun of fat people and are "discriminatory". The Federal Office of Public Health is also unhappy because the topic of nutrition and exercise is something they have up their sleeve and would have preferred to tackle comprehensively later. But it's never too early for those at risk...
The health promotion organization counters that the posters are only intended to attract attention in an initial phase and that further information can be found on the website. The four-year campaign will cost a total of CHF 35 million and will be financed by a compulsory levy on health insurance companies.
Andreas Panzeri
In a TV commercial, a father struggles with his child's excess weight on a seesaw. The child is heavier than he is, so he can't swing at all. Yet it would take very little for the child to have fun again. "It takes little to change a lot," is the message here too, with a reference to the website.
This slogan has not only triggered joy among obesity specialists. They complain that "a lot" rather than "a little" is needed to lose weight. Moreover, the Foundation for Health Promotion did not involve them in the planning. The medical specialists believe that the images make fun of fat people and are "discriminatory". The Federal Office of Public Health is also unhappy because the topic of nutrition and exercise is something they have up their sleeve and would have preferred to tackle comprehensively later. But it's never too early for those at risk...
The health promotion organization counters that the posters are only intended to attract attention in an initial phase and that further information can be found on the website. The four-year campaign will cost a total of CHF 35 million and will be financed by a compulsory levy on health insurance companies.
Andreas Panzeri
