Posted 4/17/2003 9:04 PM


By Michael McCarthy, USA TODAY

NEW YORK — Can the $100 million-plus health advice and food empire built on the name and work of diet doctor Robert Atkins, who died Thursday, survive without its founder and public face? (Related story: Diet doctor Atkins dies at 72)

The lasting success of a company built around one personality is tricky, but top crisis public relations experts say this one likely can.

A key factor is the circumstances of the death, they say. A cause conflicting with what they and their products stand for raises credibility issues. Runner Jim Fixx helped popularize the sport with his best seller, The Complete Book of Running, only to die of a heart attack while running at age 52. But the death of Atkins, 72, from injuries in a fall won't pose such issues, says Eric Dezenhall, head of crisis management firm Nichols-Dezenhall. There won't be the same consumer "ridicule," he says, that Post Grape-Nuts Cereals faced in 1975 when pitchman Euell Gibbons, naturalist and health buff, died of a heart attack at age 64.

"Had Atkins died of a heart attack, that would have had a devastating effect, because some people have argued his diet increases the risk of heart disease," he says. "Not only did Jim Fixx die, but he died in a way that directly contradicted his brand."

Another plus is that the Atkins Diet is firmly entrenched in pop culture, says Robin Cohn, author of The PR Crisis Bible. "More people are familiar with the diet than the man. People want to diet and want to lose weight, so this company will be OK," she says.

The privately owned business includes Atkins Nutritionals and the Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine here. Atkins Nutritionals generates most of the revenue, selling foods, mixes, snacks and condiments and handling Atkins' books and tapes.

Robert Atkins handed off day-to-day control of Atkins Nutritionals three years ago to CEO Paul Wolff. But Atkins and wife Veronica still held 50% of the company, says spokesman Richard Rothstein, and he still saw patients daily. "The center was his baby. Treating patients was all he really cared about," he says.


http://www.usatoday.com/money/compa...atkinsinc_x.htm

[SARCASM]How is that possible ? I thought refined carbs protected you from heart disease[/SARCASM] or at least that is what all the cereal manufacturers claim. I scream at my TV everytime I see that Cherrios commercial, where the kid wanting to help his dad's cholesterol, brings him a big bowl of heart disease err Hi-Carb cereal. I often wonder how they can get away with pushing junk foods (grains, cereal, pasta, etc...) as good for you...when in fact, obesity and diabetes have surged since people began eating this junk.

Unfortunately, the "fast food" portion of the Atkins empire is the part that will likely thrive after his death, and it is by far the least important part of his "revolution".

I just hope that these and other low carb sites, plus many other writers on the subject, can build upon the principles and insights that Dr. Atkins brought to public attention regarding the need for and benefit from replacing large quantities of refined carbohydrates in our diet with reasonable quantities of fat and protein, and thereby reversing the trend toward obesity in our land.

And I am very thankful that we have already experienced the truth of his theories in my family. We are already enjoying the benefits of improved health, and the promise of more years in which to enjoy those benefits.

IMHO, of course!