She found out first hand - when she won, then went go-kart racing and had dinner at a Thai restaurant with the mysterious mom in early May.
Svarnik is one half of the duo Svarnik and Byll, characters in the Truth media campaign against tobacco. The contest was run via a new Web site, www.warriorsagainst tobacco.com, launched by the Utah Department of Health last December.
Advertising executives hope to attract teens ages 13 to 18 by adding games and other fun content to the educational site.
"Teens are watching television and listening to radio less and less," said Tracy Crowell, president of Crowell Advertising, which handles the Truth Campaign. "This is one of the tools we're using to draw youth in."
The site has received an average of 15,000 hits per month. Teens can upload pictures, play games for prizes and watch exclusive Svarnik and Byll commercials that have not yet been aired.
As teens play games, tobacco facts rotate on the screen: for example, 7.4 percent of the Utah's high school population smokes - about 201,000 smokers.
To enter the contest, Parma, 18, selected eight pictures to upload. Each picture revealed parts of Svarnik's mom's face, with blonde hair and blue eyes.
The West High School senior sent in her pictures solely to see what the woman looked like. She never thought she would be picked as the winner out of 1,500 entrants.
"When I got e-mails telling me I had won, I was really confused and I didn't know what to expect," Parma said.
Svarnik and Byll usually bumble through their tobacco battles, attacking computers and fighting invisible mythical creatures like "the smoky dragon." They end up asking viewers to call the Truth Campaign hot line.
But Svarnik's mom - who stayed in character on the date, keeping her true identity a secret - was more helpful, Parma found. They discussed how Parma could help friends who are chain smokers.
Parma took along friend, Alexis Verson, 18, and the date was videotaped for use on the Web site.
The cameras were no problem for Parma, who has been acting for several years and can be seen in High School Musical, Everwood and Touched by an Angel.
Before entering the contest, she acted in the Svarnik and Byll body bag commercial, which did not disqualify her from winning. Any teen helping to fight tobacco was eligible to win, said Kim Raap, account supervisor for the Truth Campaign.
To some extent, Utah's battle against tobacco is won, Parma said. "Smoking isn't as big of a deal nowadays," she said. "Instead, there should be a campaign against drugs."
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* ANA BRETONcan be contacted at abreton@sltrib.com or 801-257-8742. Send comments about this story to livingeditor@sltrib.com
