The lasting impact of the Go for 2&5 campaign

Little is known about the executional techniques that are most likely to make healthy eating messages memorable over the longer term. The aim of this exploratory study was to identify factors contributing to the ongoing salience of the Go for 2&5 social marketing campaign among older audience members.

Interviews were conducted with 75 Western Australians aged 60+ years. A peer-interviewing method was used whereby eight older people recruited and interviewed members of their extended peer groups. The interview guide included questions about interviewees' recollections of healthy eating messages across their lifespans.

Around one in five interviewees discussed the Go for 2&5 campaign that was on air in Western Australia between 2002 and 2011. These discussions focused on either specific advertisement features that were considered to be especially memorable (in particular, humour and the use of anthropomorphised depictions of produce) and/or their recollection of the number of daily servings of fruits and vegetables recommended in the campaign. Few were able to recall other healthy eating campaigns, and in some cases it was assumed that advertisements for specific food stores or products constituted health advice.

Different campaign attributes may influence shorter-term attitudinal and behavioural responses versus longer-term recall. The characteristics of the Go for 2&5 campaign appear to have enabled it to achieve relatively high levels of recall among older people. SO WHAT?: The study results suggest that some advertising approaches that activate the peripheral route to persuasion may achieve recall over a longer period of time.