Pepsico Sets Smart Spot to Music
Pepsico is putting another foot forward to extend its Smart Spot health-and-wellness initiative.
The food and beverage giant will host Smart Spot Dance!, a tour that gives dance classes in seven cities. The program targets Hispanic and African-American moms by featuring Dancing with the Stars’ Mario Lopez and actress LaChanze, who stars in the Broadway show The Color Purple.
The program kicked off in New York City last week, and travels until October to Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, St. Louis and Washington DC. One- and two-day events invite locals to learn a dance routine taught by Lopez or LaChanze and Broadway choreographer Maria Torres, set to Latin jazz and urban music. Each participant gets a DVD of the dance routine and a pedometer. Registered dieticians counsel participants on healthy lifestyle habits and distribute recipes.
Each event will be filmed, and posted on SmartSpot.com, along with an event diary from Lopez and LaChanze, instructions to the dance routine, and music that visitors can download. Visitors to the bilingual site also can submit their own dance videos for consumer vote; the 10 top videos each month get a feature slot on the site, and possible inclusion in a “dance-u-mentary” that Pepsico will produce to run on Univision.com and Bet.com later this year.
The program is designed “to empower and motivate the African American and Latino communities to adopt healthier, more active lifestyles,” said Antonio Lucio, PepsiCo senior vice president and chief innovation and health and wellness officer, in a statement. “We’ll engage the community through dance, which is a fun, culturally relevant way for families to get active and we’ll educate our consumers about our Smart Spot products that can contribute to healthier lifestyles.”
Pepsico launched Smart Spot in 2004 through a tie-in with non-profit weight management group America On the Move. A new study conducted by America On the Move and funded by Pepsico found that dancing provides twice the exercise of walking.
Smart Spot puts a green symbol on packages of Pepsico products that meet nutrition criteria set by the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The 100-plus products include items under the Quaker, Aquafina, Baked! Lays, Gatorade, Tropicana and Dole brands. In 2006, more than 40% of the Pepsico’s North American revenues came from products bearing the Smart Spot logo, the company said.
