TORONTO - The non-profit fitness agency that for decades used television ads to encourage Canadians to "keep fit and have fun" is coming out of retirement.

After laying dormant for more than five years with no funding, ParticipAction will relaunch in the spring with a modern message to help fight obesity, which is as bad as it's ever been, Federal Health Minister Tony Clement said Monday.

"We all remember the ads . . . they resonated for years after the fact and so that's the kind of thing we want to see happen again,'' Clement said.

The group's board of directors hopes to modernize ParticipAction while at the same time retaining those elements of the program that made it so successful, he added.

"There were a number of things that obviously worked well in the past that can be continued, but we're also in 2007, and what the board has really promoted is the idea that there are some things . . . that perhaps are (more) relevant to today."

Founded in 1971, ParticipAction was touted by Pierre Trudeau as an inexpensive way to fight the rising cost of health care. But after decades of campaigns that made it a household name, the program fell apart in 2001 when the governing Liberals cut off its $350,000 annual funding.

ParticipAction is now being bankrolled with $5 million and will focus on kids 12 and under, as well as at-risk groups like seniors, aboriginals and the disabled.

Conspicuous by their absence, however, are the two people most Canadians have come to associate with ParticipAction: the grinning, gregarious hosts of those ubiquitous Body Break television spots, Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod.

The husband-and-wife team worked with ParticipAction for nearly 30 years, promoting physical fitness and a healthy diet in short, snappy television commercials with the tagline, "keep fit and have fun'' -- a campaign that made them two of the most recognizable faces in Canada.

In an interview Monday, however, Johnson said he hasn't heard from anyone associated with ParticipAction for the last six years.

"No one from the government or from any agency has ever called us or sent us an e-mail or anything like that -- and we're not that tough to get a hold of,'' he said.

The couple went on to start their own fitness company, also called Body Break, and never stopped producing their TV spots, which still air some 800 times a week in various markets across Canada. They're also seen every day in about 400 doctors' offices and 14 hospitals across the country.

But despite their growing business with products sold in Sears and Wal-Mart, Johnson said he'd still be willing to work with ParticipAction. And even if that doesn't work out, he bears no ill will toward whoever ends up running the revamped program.

"We're not Adidas and Nike; we're not competing for the same feat for people to get walking,'' he said.

"We want people to get active and if we can be a part of the ParticipAction team to get Canadians on the road to better health, we would be happy to be a part of that.''

The $5 million will be a good foundation to work with, but the government is counting on money to flow from other sources as it did in the past, said Helena Guergis, the government's secretary of state for sport.

"We saw $65 million contributed over almost 29 years from local communities, we saw $40 million come from provinces and territories, and from the media, we saw about $280 million in free media provided to ParticipAction,'' Guergis said.

"Consultations have shown us that that same energy is still there and that same commitment is still there.''

ParticipAction chairman Charles Pielsticker said everyone is confident that funding and support won't be a problem.

"There was a study that was completed about two years ago and it indicated that 75 per cent of adult Canadians, from Labrador to northern B.C., had a positive image of ParticipAction,'' Pielsticker said.

"We have talked with many different organizations in the corporate sector and many governments as well, and the interest in participating and using the brand and logo is phenomenal.''

Johnson said he too believes ParticipAction can make a huge difference in getting the attention of Canadians. Even today, Johnson and McLeod are stopped on the street by people who recognize them from Body Break.

Usually, however, there's only one thing they want to know, Johnson said.

"'Are you and Joanne married?' It's kind of the same question over and over.''