With school back in session across most of America this week, food service brands are under more pressure than ever to make a difference in how U.S. schoolchildren eat, and they’re breaking out new menus and positioning in the effort.

The Big Three of educational foodservice – Aramark, Compass Group’s Chartwells division, and Sodexo – are patently aware of how Michelle Obama has fingered childhood obesity as Public Enemy No. 1. And while the chains have dedicated a lot of resources over the last several years to formulating, distributing and marketing more healthful fare to their school clients, there’s nothing like attention by the First Lady to get them to apply even more.

So Rye, N.Y.-based Chartwells, for instance, has launched a program called, “Be a Flexitarian.” Originally rolled out last spring in celebration of Earth Day, the program is being intensified this fall, offering kids more chances for meatless meals that feature ingredients like black beans and brown rice.Continue reading...

Swipe your smartphone across the 2D bar code on a box of Special K cereal in the US, and you may be surprised to see Lucky magazine editor-at-large Elise Loehnen pop up in a video with tips about finding figure-flattering jeans. It’s a, well, fitting and organic partnership from the cereal whose mantra is how to feel better in your jeans, and a magazine featuring the latest jeans and other styles.Continue reading...

As kids we were told to drink our milk, finish our vegetables, and NOT drink cups of fat? Well, not exactly.

But it appears that the New York City Department of Health is adding this last rule to the list. In a new campaign to address the detrimental effects of sweetened drinks, the Health Department is asking New Yorkers of all ages to think before they drink.

The agency’s recently launched public-awareness campaign, which cost about $277,000 to develop over three fiscal years, features graphic posters that will run in 1,500 subway cars through October.

In the spirit of last year's "Pouring on the pounds" campaign, its latest effort aims to wake up New Yorkers to "what goes into a large serving of sweetened soda." The answer: packets of sugar that transform into blobs of fat via soda, evidently.

It's eye-opening, but nowhere near as unsettling as last year's TV spot, in which an actor drinks pure fat from a glass, while asking viewers, “Are you pouring on the pounds? Drinking one can of soda a day can make you 10 pounds fatter a year.”Continue reading...

Bausch & Lomb has just launched a new contact lens solution brand targeting green-conscious consumers – Biotrue. The minty fresh packaging, however, appears to be the only "green" feature of the brand, prompting the New York Times to take issue with its marketing claims.

Biotrue is billed as the first lens solution that comes close to recreating the tears that occur naturally in eyes. As noted in a science class-style video explaining the biology of the eye, B&L is not so subtly pushing a healthy message to consumers.

“Inspired by the biology of your eyes, it’s the only solution with the same pH and the same lubricant found naturally in your eyes, so you’ll find it easier on them,” claims an image spot created by TM Advertising, part of the Interpublic Group.

As for the packaging, the carton reads: “Bausch & Lomb cares about the environment. This carton and bottle are 100 percent recyclable.”Continue reading...

Coney Island's world-famous hot dog eating contest returns on July 4th with a new, and appropriate, sponsor: Pepto-Bismol.

P&G has signed on as the first stomach remedy product for Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest, named for New York's iconic Nathan's Famous hot dog eateries.

The pink liquid balm for overeaters is no stranger to the event, which celebrates its 95th annual hot dog showdown this year. Competitive eaters "have been using it for years," as George Shea, chairman of Major League Eating, tells the Wall Street Journal.

Inspired by the World Cup, Major League Eating is banning vuvuzelas in case spectators get any ideas about blowing plastic horns to cheer on last year's champ, Joey Chesnut, or another competitor.

There will be plenty of noise — P&G plans to give the crowd Pepto-pink thunder-sticks.

P&G's Gillette brand has rolled out a new campaign featuring Roger Federer. The Swiss tennis champ is touting the Fusion razor's benefits for sensitive skin, an untimely coincidence given his toppling yesterday at the French Open. The campaign was inspired by Gillette's recent (and, it says, first for a brand) accreditation by the British Skin Foundation.

In the UK version of the spot, Fed is shown on a grass tennis court, while elsewhere he's playing on a hard tennis court. Federer previously co-starred in Gillette’s campaigns with disgraced golfer Tiger Woods and footballer Thierry Henry.

James Nunn, P&G grooming brand communications manager, tells Britain's Marketing Week: “Gillette never stepped away from celebrity brand ambassadors, but we will dial their use up or down depending on the relevance of the campaign.”

Unilever's Pepsodent toothpaste brand rolled out its first spot featuring the brand's new celebrity endorser, Bollywood star (and avid tweeter) Shah Rukh Khan.

The humorous father/son spot extols the virtues of regular toothbrushing, which everyone should now know is a very wise idea. Even if you don't believe in ghosts.

Having coined the term jiapers to describe Huggies' new faux denim Little Movers diapers (at least KISS-FM in Charlotte, NC, appreciates a pun...), we were bemused to see that Kimberly-Clark's mildly risqué commercial for the limited (summer-only) product hasn't won over at least three U.S. TV networks.

Despite being accepted by 13 channels, the New York Times hears that the Disney-owned ABC and its offshoot ABC Family, as well as the Comcast-owned preschoolers' Sprout network, balked at the innuendo-heavy spot because of the language. For this trio of networks, the tagline was changed to "When you gotta go, go in style."

Watch the spot and let us know if you think they're being overly sensitive (and if we're being overly punny!)