Blues legend and blues ingénue together promote OneTouch

MILPITAS, Calif. — LifeScan on Tuesday introduced Life First, a new North American campaign featuring music legend B.B. King and former “American Idol” contestant Crystal Bowersox in support of its OneTouch brand of blood-glucose monitoring systems.

The ads debut on national and regional television Tuesday and will be followed by online and print ads over the next several months. The introduction of the campaign coincides with National Diabetes Alert Day on March 22.

King, 85, has appeared in previous OneTouch campaigns and has had Type 2 diabetes since 1991. Bowersox, 25, the runner-up on the ninth season of “American Idol,” is insulin dependent and was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 6 years old.

“OneTouch understands that people living with diabetes don’t want to be defined by their disease,” stated Michel Paul, group chairman of Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Care, which manages LifeScan. “They want to know that they’re successfully managing their diabetes so that they can, in essence, put their life first."

"B.B. is a music icon who continues to perform and tour tirelessly, and Crystal has established herself as one of music’s most talented new artists," Paul continued. "Both are clearly managing their diabetes so that they can live life first, and are an inspiration to all individuals living with diabetes.”

The campaign is the first phase of the OneTouch Life First initiative, which will be expanded over the next several months to provide information, tools and products to help encourage and inspire people living with diabetes.