NEW YORK — What do Vine stars Nash and Hayes Grier have in common with First Lady Michelle Obama? More than you might think.
The brothers, nicknamed Team Grier, are joining the First Lady and 50 other celebrity ambassadors for the FNV campaign, designed to encourage young people to eat their fruits and vegetables.
FNV, led by the Partnership for a Healthier America, is focused on increasing fruit and veggie consumption and sales. The news of Team Grier’s involvement with the campaign will be announced officially on Monday.
“I just want to overall, with this campaign, make sure kids are aware,” Nash Grier told Mashable exclusively at Stream Con, a digital content convention (of which Mashable is a sponsor), on Sunday. “I feel like as an influencer, a person who has a voice, and someone who is young, I want to make any issue that I know about known to anyone.”
Nash, 17, has amassed 5 million Twitter followers, 4.5 million YouTube subscribers to his channel and 12.2 million followers on Vine.
His brother, Hayes, 15, has 3 million Twitter followers, about 719,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel and 4.1 million followers on Vine
The duo will kick off their FNV efforts with a Team Grier FNV Design Contest, where two fans will be selected to co-design a t-shirt sold on RevealProject.com. Proceeds will go to Partnership for a Healthier America. Nash said the brothers will also plan on making videos related to the cause.
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Obama has long been an advocate for healthy foods. She planted a vegetable garden on the South Lawn of the White House in In 2009, and later launched the “Let’s Move!” campaign, designed to help reduce the epidemic of childhood obesity.
Last year, a White House Vine video of her holding a turnip and parodying DJ Snake and Lil’ John’s song “Turn Down for What” went viral.
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel also recently became part of the FNV campaign, collaborating with Obama on an “Eat Your Effin Vees” video in August.
Other celebrity ambassadors include Kristen Bell, Jessica Alba, Nick Jonas, and New York Giants’ Victor Cruz.
The news of the Grier brothers’ joining the campaign is the latest example of organizations utilizing digital stars to help influence younger audiences.
Earlier this year, the Ad Council announced it is working with Google and a few digital content companies to launch Creators for Good, a campaign that pairs popular personalities on social platforms with Ad Council campaigns.
“Brands sponsor athletes and celebrities because they can help them sell a product,” Drew Nannis, chief marketing officer of Partnership for a Healthier America, said in an email statement to Mashable. “FNV uses all that marketing power for something we all actually need: more fruits and veggies. Hayes and Nash get that, and we’re excited they’ve joined more than 50 other celebrities on Team FNV.”
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