FarmVille and the Food Network have a lot in common. Both use the entertainment and social medias of our time — what I’ll call the ‘secret ingredients’ — to promote a shift in values. Note Michelle Obama’s cameo on Iron Chef. She’s putting her crusade to reduce childhood obesity in front of those it can affect most (almost 1.5 million viewers watch every episode, with a core audience of 25- to 54-year-olds).
Chef and ‘competitor’ Mario Batali sums it up this way:
“What’s exciting for us is this is the first time I can remember the White House taking an active interest in doing something about diet and health,” he said. “They understand this kind of P.R.”
He continued, “If we don’t do something about how kids eat soon, it will be simply the largest problem facing this country.”
