Back in April, we won a project to deliver a marquee road-show as part of the nationwide Change4Life campaign. You may have seen the TV ads with the ‘Wallace and Gromit’ style clay models, but if not, it’s a government run initiative aimed at getting parents and kids to eat healthier food, be more active and live longer as a result.
The challenge for us was to come up with a concept which really engaged kids and adults, promoting the health benefits without lecturing or boring them. We came up with the idea of an immersive experience where the kids would feel like they were in a cartoon world with lots of fun things around them. We designed two main areas inside a large marquee – the kitchen and the park.
The kitchen consisted of all the usual appliances (printed onto graphic panels – no sharp knives here!) and into the fridge and other areas we mounted a touch-screen running an interactive animation. By pressing the screen both kids and adults had access to a wealth of information such as tasty meal ideas and healthy alternatives to sugary or fatty snacks.
In the park we created an exciting bike race using two mountain bikes on stands linked to a distance monitor. The challenge was to ride as far as you could in 45 seconds. Some parents took it more seriously than others! We also produced a short cartoon to run for the duration of each race, taking the competitors through some hair-raising scenes in order to keep adrenaline levels high.
Outside we designed a photo board where families could put their faces onto the bodies of the cartoon characters from the TV ads. They could then receive a photo of themselves in exchange for a pledge to make a healthy change in their life – hence the name Change4Life.
The first roadshow took place at the Sporting Futures event in Enfield, which 5,000 local people attended. The event was a great success with hundreds of visitors using the touch-screens, and taking part in the activities. It did help that the marquee was bright yellow!
The road-show is travelling to another ten events throughout greater London this summer, including Lambeth Country Show and London Mela. If you’re in the area pop in and say hello, it could be the healthiest thing you do this year.
Posted by: DavidL
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