Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota has come up with what it hopes is one of those win win plans as part of its “do” exercise campaign. You’ve seen the signs and the ads that say you should just do. Exercise, that is.

This time they’ve cut a deal of sorts with 20 area bike shops. You keep track of your biking miles, and the bike shops will give you 10 percent off of their merchandise. (Not all merchandise. Not bikes, for instance. Not sale items.) You can  find information on their web site here. It’s kind of a frequent flyer program for bicyclists.

You join at any of the participating bike shops, get a safety inspection and an odometer, and the bike shop keeps track of your mileage. If you bike 50 miles, you get a “do” water bottle. Bike 100 miles, you get 10 percent off store merchandise. Bike 200 miles get 10 percent off store merchandise, plus a pair of “do” socks and a “do” water bottle. And so on.

Jill Chamberlain, Blue Cross project manager for community initiatives, said that the idea came about as a compliment to the discounts health plan members get on their gym memberships. Some employers pay part of the membership fees for people who join fitness clubs. But bikers and runners who don’t pay to exercise are left out of that deal.

This is also a way for bike shops to encourage customer loyalty and get repeat business. They pay for the 10 percent discount, Blue Cross provides the “do” merchandise.

There are some interesting questions here, starting with whether an advertising campaign can actually get people to change their habits and get moving. In this deal, Blue Cross is providing a web site and free “do” stuff. The bike shops are spending the money in the form of discounts to bicyclists.

One avid bicyclist I know scoffed at the reward plan as nothing but a way for bike shops to generate foot traffic. It doesn’t go nearly far enough, he said. Why not, say, give people who ride 1,000 miles in a year — or a summer — $500 off a new bike? Now there’s an incentive, he said.

Chamberlain says this is the first time bike shops have tried anything like this. If it works, maybe it it will grow.

Would you do this? Is there enough in this for you to go to the trouble of getting an odometer, signing up at a bike shop and keeping track? Or is this just something that people who already bike a lot will use?

Who woulda’ thunk — a health plan with a sense a humor.

HealthPartners launched its new advertising campaign yesterday, and the star of the show? Petey P. Cup. Here’s a link to an unexpectedly hilarious video of the big guy getting dressed and trying to make friends with a little dog who wants nothing to do with him. Click on the pee cup picture on the bottom of the left side.

And here’s a picture of the giant pee cup you may see in various locations around the Twin Cities. This one is at the corner of Fourth St. and First Ave., in downtown Minneapolis.

You might also see other giant medical devices — a pill, a tongue depressor, a syringe, and a cotton swab. (The syringe — named Pokey — was supposed to be set up at Metrodome Plaza, but someone nixed that idea when they figured the Yankees might take offense, according to an inside source at HealthPartners.)

The point to all this advertising — an antidote to the usual super-serious fare from health plans — is HealthPartners new web site where you can get test results back within 24 hours if you sign up. The web site also offers other on line services, including scheduling appointments, viewing medical records, refilling prescriptions, or consulting with a doctor.

Even if you don’t go to HealthPartners, say hello to Petey P. Cup if you see him. He might just wave back. With all four fingers.

Ah, toilet paper. It has so many uses. The one it’s made for, of course, blowing your nose, wiping off make-up, cleaning the sink, stopping up the blood from those nasty shaving cuts, and many more. Now, business students at the University of Minnesota have found another one, and I can’t believe Charmin hasn’t thought of it already.

 Advertising. After all, toilet paper is one of the last remaining white spaces. And what better to advertise in such a space than a health clinic? Boynton Health Service, the clinic that serves university students and staff, is the first to take advantage of the last remaining white space.

“Everything working out okay?” the ad reads as it unrolls. “If not, Boynton is your clinic!”  Eager to use every opportunity for a public health message, Boynton also uses the space to deliver the appropriate one for this circumstance: “If you’re reading this, you need to wash your hands when you’re done.”

The idea came from White Space Media, a group of entrepreneurial business students who want to sell more such ads on toilet paper, according to a story in the Minnesota Daily, including one for anti-drunk driving that will be distributed at music venues this summer.

Dave Golden, head of communications and marketing at Boynton, said the idea was irresistable and would be a hit with students. He’s ordered 1,000 rolls. For now, they can be found near toilets at off-campus apartment buildings. But who knows? Maybe this is the future of advertising.

The mind boggles, of course, at the possibilities. Can you think of any creative ads for such a venue (ones that are suitable for a family web site such as this one)?