Trust a troupe of athletes to come up with an energetic way of encouraging Canadians to manage their cardiovascular health. Late last week, the Canadian Football League teamed with an association of health organizations to launch a contest dubbed ‘Making the Connection CFL Challenge.’ The online initiative requires visitors to register for a customized five-step cholesterol management plan to be eligible to enter the contest.
And the prizes are to die for if you’re a football fan. Eight fans – one per CFL market – will get to train with their hometown heroes. They will be chosen by a panel including reps from the Canadian Lipid Nurse Network; the Canadian Association of Cardiac Rehabilitation and the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP). Then the national winner will get to attend the 95th Grey Cup in Toronto on November 25.
‘I encourage fans across the country to develop their personal game plan to change their lifestyles and take charge of their health,’ says Wally Buono, head coach of the BC Lions and Making the Connection spokesman. ‘Coach’s orders.’
A commercial featuring BC Lions’ Geroy Simon broke on TSN on July 12 to kick off the program, and it will be followed by promotional spots aired on TSN throughout the football season to update fans on Challenge participation, encourage them to track competitor progress, and urge them to vote for their favourite fan/player tandem team.
Creative for the ad was done by Triple Threat Entertainment and for the web page by Indusblue, while the web page was built by MRX. The CFL handled the media buys in-house, and Weber Shandwick is doing the PR.
