Section: Past Record Materials Comments Recommendation Index of Schemes

Scheme Evaluation Card

Le Crunch Apples / Dunnes Stores: Health Heroes

Name:
Health Heroes

Sponsor:
Le Crunch Apples and Dunnes Stores

Objective:
“encourages pupils to relate healthy eating to having fun.”

Classification:
Sponsored Educational Material and Competition.

Year: 2005 (2nd year)

Past Record: [top]
The same companies ran a similar scheme, “Picture of Health”, in 2004. The scheme is produced by Real Event Solutions the educational marketer responsible for many other commercial programmes in Irish schools.

Materials: [top]
Schools receive (unsolicited) a letter explaining the scheme and teachers’ materials on healthy eating and apples, the reverse of which shows how apples may be integrated into 8 curricular areas. A poster promoting the scheme bears the logos of Le Crunch, Dunnes Stores and Air France.

Comments: [top]
The suggested educational activities are overly focussed on apples especially the Le Crunch Bunch; “Have an “Apple Day”…. Have an apple and spoon race…. Pretend you are all Le Crunch Health Heroes…make a play using all the characters.” The presence of the Le Crunch and other logos on the classroom material is unacceptable. Students entering the competition must mention Le Crunch in the title/slogan of their entry and winners will have their work displayed in Dunnes Stores outlets nationwide. All teachers who enter their students in the competition are entered in a draw to win flights to Paris with Air France. We feel this inducement is revealing of the educational merit of the scheme.

Recommendation: [top]
We strongly advise against the use of this scheme in primary schools.

	High	Fair	Low
Curricular Relevance
Logo/Brand Presence
Influence on Spending

While there are some useful and positive messages around health and fitness, the scheme, as it stands, is commercially motivated and biased in favour of Le Crunch and its products. The competitive aspect where students’ work must include reference to LE Crunch on their posters, which are then used for promotional purposes in supermarkets, is deeply flawed. We urge schools to consider the use of non-commercial health materials, such as those from the Health Promotion Unit, in place of this branded scheme.