National oral health campaign secures support from CSPI Director of Nutrition Policy
SEATTLE, Washington--The American Dental Association and PopCap Games have announced a new tendril of their launched Stop Zombie Mouth campaign.
A limited run of one million packs of trading cards featuring characters from PopCap’s game Plants vs. Zombies is being distributed via thousands of participating dentists nationwide. Each card pack also includes a coupon redeemable for a free copy of the full PC/Mac edition of the game.
The game coupons can also be downloaded for free from the campaign website, www.stopzombiemouth.com, which has added new content from Halloween decorations and kids’ activity pages to a themed music video and fun facts.
The Stop Zombie Mouth campaign also announced receiving support of Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
“Changing eating habits among children is one of the most important yet difficult challenges that parents face today," Wootan said.
“The ADA and PopCap Games have come up with a fun, clever, and compelling approach that should appeal to young trick-or-treaters this Halloween. This campaign will help children recognize the relationship between healthy eating and healthy teeth, and provide one of the coolest alternatives to sugary snacks yet.”
Announced in Septemnber 2012, the “Stop Zombie Mouth” campaign will continue through Halloween 2012, and provides parents, dentists and other adults with trading cards and coupons redeemable for free copies of PopCap’s video game, Plants vs. Zombies. The game can be given away to trick-or-treaters as a tooth-friendly alternative to candy.
Thousands of ADA member dentists nationwide have ordered Stop Zombie Mouth kits to outfit their offices with the campaign theme and provide free collectible Plants vs. Zombies trading cards and game coupons to patients. Other components of the campaign scheduled for next month include a public service announcement airing nationwide on more than 100 radio stations and a press conference in New York City.
The limited edition trading cards feature 45 different zombie types (including some not found in any editions of the game) and five new characters created specifically for the campaign who represent the germs found in a zombie’s mouth. Each pack holds five cards, including one card with the URL and redemption code to obtain a free copy of Plants vs. Zombies for PC or Mac computers.
In addition, there are two mystery puzzles that can be built with specific subsets of the trading cards. The campaign music video features new and existing characters and is two minutes long so it can be used as a timer for brushing one’s teeth for the recommended length of time.
Parents and other adults who host trick-or-treating children on Halloween can obtain the free trading cards only at participating ADA member dentists nationwide. At a later date, the trading cards may become available to consumers through additional channels.
The free game redemption coupons can also be downloaded directly from www.stopzombiemouth.com. The coupons, trading cards and other themed materials are designed to raise awareness of the importance of kids’ oral health, as well as provide a fun alternative to sugary treats on Halloween night.
For more information, visit www.mouthhealthy.org.
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