ONTARIO FOLIC ACID ALLIANCE BREAKS CAMPAIGN
By Adnews Staff
The Folic Acid Alliance of Ontario has begun its first-ever awareness campaign to promote folic acid and its benefits in helping to prevent birth defects. Members of the Folic Acid Alliance include The Easter Seal Society of Ontario, The Fetal Centre at The Hospital for Sick Children, The Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Association of Ontario, The Ontario Society of Nutrition Professional in Public Health and Best Start: Ontario's Maternal, Newborn and Early Child Development Resource Centre. The public awareness campaign will run until June. It is aimed at women 18 to 45 years of age. The campaign consists of print ads in Chatelaine, Flare, Canadian Living and Homemaker's. as well as transit advertising, 30-second radio and television public service announcements and a Web site at <http://www.folicacid.ca>. The creative describes the importance of taking folic acid prior to conception and depicts a sperm and egg about to meet. The tagline is "It's never too early." Additional components include communications packages sent to healthcare professionals in Ontario and community action kits sent to public health units. The advertising and Web site were done by Gravity Design Inc. of Toronto. A similar campaign from Health Canada began nationally earlier this month. That three-year campaign, created by BCP of Montreal, also focuses on the benefits of folic acid in preventing birth defects.