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Why government health departments are spending millions on mobile gaming
Today sees the release of The Walk, an iOS and Android game backed by the UK's Department of Health. It's the second release in a collection of apps funded as part of the UK's Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI). The first -- StepJockey, an app that lets you map, locate, rate and log the calorific expenditure of staircases around your city -- came out on Monday. All five apps in the program encourage you to move more, or change negative habits. Can an app improve your life? At the very least, we're guessing the Department of Health -- having just spent £2 million on this round of investment -- thinks so. This is part of a growing trend, that could see government agencies in the UK taking a leaf out of Silicon Valley's book when it comes to solving (health) problems. Read past the break to find out why it's putting so much money on third-party digital initiatives.
Change4Life encourages video games in new ad
Change4Life, the British ad campaign designed to encourage kids to be active, is releasing a new television ad that approaches the topic of games. While the previous release from the campaign drew a visual parallel between video games and "AN EARLY DEATH," the new ad, created by Wallace and Gromit's Aardman Animation and debuting tonight, actually suggests playing "active" video games, as part of a daily "60 active minutes." The organization finally seems to have realized that there are video games out there that promote movement! The more thoughtful, less melodramatic message is probably a response to the companies who became quite upset with being portrayed in such a terrible way last time. For an idea of what tonight's ad will look like, check out Change4Life's previous (totally cute!) commercials on the Department of Health's YouTube channel.
