Garfield the Star Sleeper: Sleep Well. Do Well campaign

24-12. Reduce the proportion of vehicular crashes caused by persons with excessive sleepiness.

Prevent Problem Sleepiness

Through population and clinical approaches, increase the percentage of children and adults who obtain adequate sleep in order to prevent problem sleepiness and its negative health consequences.

To reach and engage young children (ages 7-10), using Garfield, with messages about the importance of getting enough sleep and how adequate sleep can help them do their best and can help boost their brain power.

“Garfield” was created in 1978 as a comic strip character, and has since grown in popularity to include television, newspaper and licensing deals in 111 countries. Today Garfield is the most widely syndicated comic strip in history, appearing in 2,550 newspapers worldwide. He has universal appeal to all age groups, and is known for being a humorous wise-cracking, lasagne loving, Monday-hating, NAP-TAKING cat. Many exciting collaborative activities with Garfield are possible, and discussions have been met with much enthusiasm by PAWS, Inc. The approach is to have Garfield serve as the “spokescat” for a major, ongoing (5-year), educational outreach campaign. The central theme is that getting enough sleep will help you do your best, and getting adequate sleep can help boost your brain power. The audiences are young children (ages 7-10), and their parents, teachers, day care providers, etc. With that approach, a variety of activities are being explored, utilizing different media and channels, as well as additional partner organizations, to convey the message.

In an effort to better understand the current research in the area of marketing to children, the project team first asked the Geppetto Group, a children’s marketing, advertising and research firm to conduct research in March, 2000 with children ages 7-10 and help maximize the opportunity to use Garfield in the effort to educate children about sleep. The campaign was launched with a press conference held February, 2001. The theme of this campaign is: "Sleep Well. Do Well. The StarSleeper campaign."