Music Stars for Life First Diabetes Campaign
OneTouch, a leading brand of blood glucose monitoring systems for people with diabetes, has introduced Life First, a new North American campaign featuring music artists B.B. King and Crystal Bowersox.
The ads debut on national and regional television today, March 15, and will be followed by online and print ads over the next several months. The introduction of the campaign is particularly timely, since March 22 marks National Diabetes Alert Day in the U.S.
Meanwhile, Meredith Corporation, a leading media and marketing company serving American women, announced that its Diabetic Living brand has launched in Russia and Mexico and will launch in India with local licensing partners. (Read: Diabetic Living in India, Russia and Mexico)
[ Also Read: What Celebs Do to Keep You Healthy ]You would agree diabetes is a dangerous disease. More than 230 million people worldwide are living with the disease and this number is expected to rise to a staggering 350 million within 20 years.
It is estimated that nearly 24 million Americans have diabetes, including an estimated 5.7 million who remain undiagnosed.
But what precautions should patients take to stay fit even with diabetes? Actor Paul Sorvino led an awareness program aimed to help people living with diabetes and those who support them.
[ Also Read: Be Part of the Cure with Diabetes Campaign ]Paul, living with type 2 diabetes, and his daughter, Academy-award winning actress Mira Sorvino, teamed up with Sanofi-aventis U.S. to launch “Diabetes Co-Stars.”
“‘Diabetes Co-Stars’ aimed to help inspire people to find support for their diabetes journey,” says Paul. (Read: How Actor Paul Sorvino Deals with Diabetes)
The Life First campaign brings together these two musicians for the first time as ambassadors for OneTouch. Both have firsthand experience with diabetes and represent the broad spectrum of people living with the disease.
King, 85, a guitarist and singer-songwriter who has appeared in previous OneTouch campaigns, has had type 2 diabetes since 1991. Bowersox, 25, the runner-up on American Idol Season 9, is insulin dependent and was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was six years old.
[ Also Read: Guide to a Healthier and Happier Sex Life ]“OneTouch understands that people living with diabetes don’t want to be defined by their disease,” said Michel Paul, company group chairman, Johnson and Johnson Diabetes Care Franchise, which includes LifeScan.
The campaign is the first phase of the OneTouch Life First initiative, which will be expanded over the next several months to provide information, tools and products to help encourage and inspire people living with diabetes to manage their disease, enabling them to live their lives to the fullest.
LifeScan, Inc. is the maker of OneTouch blood glucose monitoring systems, a leading brand in North America.
