‘I was just friended by Jerry Rice!’

The sedentary hours that kids spend playing video games are a likely reason one in three kids these days are overweight, but one gaming company is using a clever alternative media stunt to try to help turn that trend around.
 
Kinect for the video game console Xbox 360 is the main sponsor of the NFL's Play 60 program, which fights childhood obesity by encouraging kids to get out and play for at least an hour a day. The two have teamed up for a new program called the "60 Million Minutes Challenge," which can earn kids some unusual prizes via social media.
 
Kids who visit Facebook.Xbox60MillionMinutes.com and pledge to be active for 60 minutes a day will be entered to win a "social autograph" sent to their personal Facebook pages.
 
The winning children will be "friended" by current and former NFL players, such as Jerry Rice and Drew Brees, meaning they can show all their online pals they've become Facebook friends with a real-life football star.
 
The idea is to spread the movement socially, encouraging other kids to pledge to be active for an hour a day in hopes of winning the same prize.
 
The goal of the program is to get 1 million kids to sign up, for a total of 60 million minutes of active play each day.
 

Tags: 60 minutes, alternative media, challenges, drew brees, facebook, gaming, jerry rice, kids, kinect, media, nfl, online, social autograph, social media, xbox