Washington, DC – February 9, 2006 – Kids ages 6-11 have the chance to win a visit from Marvel’s legendary Super Hero, Spider-Man, in a new contest for kids called SmallStep Challenge. The contest, developed in partnership with the interactive promotions agency ePrize, is being kicked off today by The Advertising Council and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a dynamic new campaign to encourage healthy eating and exercise in children.

Between February 6 and March 30, kids can log onto www.smallstep.gov to take the SmallStep Challenge and correctly answer a trivia question about healthy eating for a chance to win the grand prize. Each day of the contest period, a new trivia question will appear on the site. Kids can enter the contest once a day. Each time they log in and answer the trivia question they will be entered for a chance to win the grand prize - a visit by Spider-Man to their school. Three schools will be awarded visits by Spider-Man, where he will explain the benefits of healthy eating to the winner's class. Spider-Man himself will also honor the winner in front of all of his or her classmates. Grand prize winners will be chosen on or around March 31, 2006.

In addition to the three grand prizes, the SmallStep Challenge will award weekly prizes, which include a National Basketball Association (NBA) or Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) gift pack. Gift packs include a number of fun NBA and WNBA items, including a t-shirt, hat, sweatshirt, and official basketball. Weekly prizewinners will be chosen every Monday starting on February 13, 2006, and kids can register to win the gift packs until April 30, 2006.

“Since he first appeared more than 40 years ago, the amazing Spider-Man has been a role model to kids in making wise choices,” said Bob Sabouni of Marvel Entertainment, Inc. “This extends to eating healthy foods and getting plenty of exercise and we are pleased to make him available for this important campaign. Superheroes know that without wise food and exercise choices, super-human strength can only accomplish so much.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the percentage of young people who are overweight has more than tripled since 1980. In addition to the psychological and social issues of stigmatization, overweight children are at far greater risk for numerous health consequences, including cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases that may reduce the length and quality of their lives.

“The number of children who are overweight in America has skyrocketed and needs to be addressed on all fronts,” said HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt. “We know that children pay attention to Spider-Man, and that’s why we are delighted that he is helping us help kids. When children see their Super Hero role models and their classmates talking about the importance of healthy habits, changes begin to happen.”

In November 2005, HHS and the Ad Council launched a comprehensive, multimedia campaign to encourage young children to eat healthy and get active. Under the theme, “Can Your Food Do That?” the campaign aims to help children and their parents make wise food choices and increase physical activity.

Extending the “Small Steps” adult-targeted Obesity Prevention Campaign, which HHS and the Ad Council launched in 2004, the new campaign provides children with meaningful reasons to make better food choices. For example, eating healthy food can help them do the things they already love to do, only better – such as run faster, throw farther, or perform well in school.

“Obesity continues to be one of the most critical issues facing kids in our country,” said Ad Council President and CEO Peggy Conlon. “Working with broadcasters and publishers throughout the nation, as well as other generous partners, we are greatly increasing awareness of the scope and seriousness of this issue and giving parents, teachers and kids the tools they need to prevent it.”

The SmallStep Challenge is part of a fun and interactive website located at www.smallstep.gov, which is also available in Spanish. The “kid section” of the site contains exciting activities to help children understand that wise food choices and good eating habits can improve all of their favorite activities. The website includes features such as:

• Online games developed in partnership with Warner Brothers starring the Tazmanian Devil™ and other Looney Toons™ characters;
• Lists of ways that good food helps kids do the things they most want to do – from swinging on monkey bars to burping loudly;
• Brain exercises with quizzes about the magic of good food;
• Fun food-libs, where kids fill in the blanks to describe wild ways their food helps them;
• Web links to other cool sites;
• Public service ads developed especially for kids to view over the Internet; · Mechanisms that kick children off the site and prompt them to get up and get moving if they stay on the site for too long.

For more information about the Childhood Obesity Prevention campaign, SmallStep Challenge contest and to learn how kids and adults can get healthy, log onto www.smallstep.gov.