( CNN ) -- Next month , the Vidalia Onion Committee , a Georgia group that promotes the consumption of sweet onions , will roll out 6-foot cardboard cutouts of the ogre Shrek as a tie-in to the latest film in the series , `` Shrek Forever After . '' In turn , the Georgia-based growers group hopes the green guy will turn children on to eating Vidalia onions . `` We do like to market to younger audiences and teach them about our product , '' said Wendy Brannen , the committee 's executive director . Although it 's not the first time movie advertising has taken to the produce aisle ( Disney promoted the DVD release of Peter Pan a few years ago with stickers on fresh tomatoes ) , it 's definitely one of the most prominent displays . It 's become almost commonplace to see the latest cartoon character pop up on a cereal box or a Happy Meal , but these characters have been creeping up among fresh fruit and vegetable displays in recent years , which industry officials say is all good if it gets children to eat more produce . In a study published last year by the Journal of the American Dietetic Association , researchers at Ohio State University found that adolescents do n't meet guidelines for fruit and vegetable consumption , and fruit and juice consumption drops once children turn 6 . Popeye and the characters from Disney and Peanuts are among the cartoons that have been featured by produce companies , says Patrick Delaney , communications manager for the United Fresh Produce Association in Washington . And last summer , Sesame Street 's Cookie Monster teamed up with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to promote children eating a rainbow of fresh produce . Shrek seemed an obvious choice for the Vidalia campaign , Brannen says , because the ogre compares himself to an onion in the first Shrek film . `` Ogres are like onions , '' Shrek tells Donkey : `` Onions have layers . Ogres have layers . Onions have layers . You get it ? We both have layers . '' Beginning in late April when Vidalia onions are harvested and up through the movie 's May 21 premiere , Shrek cutouts will decorate produce aisles in thousands of stores , Brannen says . Along with taking home kid-friendly recipes , shoppers can enter to win a 50-inch television , a Nintendo Wii game system and a Shrek video game . In the meantime , here are our five favorite produce spokescartoons : . Donald Duck . Imagination Farms tapped Disney 's wubbable Donald Duck to tout the wonders of cauliflower to the young generation under its Disney Garden line . Donald 's got a big bowl of cauliflower florets that he looks very excited to quack down . Snoopy . Hinkle Produce uses Charlie Brown 's beagle to sell young shoppers on the merits of its juicy watermelons . Though there 's no special Snoopy plastic wrap , the watermelons come in Snoopy-covered watermelon bins . Cookie Monster . Not content to scarf down cookies , Sesame Street 's crumby blue monster joined Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and an animated stalk of broccoli for a public service announcement geared to PBS 's youngest viewers on the benefits of eating a wide variety of veggies . Charlie Brown . Well , if you 're waiting for the great pumpkin , look no further than Charlie Brown in the produce aisle . Hinkle Produce of Cissna Park , Illinois , puts its pumpkin haul in big orange bins with Charlie , Snoopy and Linus proclaiming , `` It 's the Great Pumpkin ! '' Popeye . It could be argued that Popeye has been selling kids on spinach since his inception in 1929 . California producer River Ranch Fresh Foods has been using Popeye to tout its array of fresh packaged spinach and salad blends under the Popeye Fresh ! label since the mid-2000s .
Vidalia Onion Committee to place cutouts of Shrek in grocery stores . Industry officials say it 's good if it means children eat more vegetables . Popeye , Disney characters have also done partnerships with produce companies .