Atkins Nutritionals & Rob Lowe tackle misinformation about the low-carb diet in new campaign
The low-carb lifestyle brand’s “Any Questions?” launched Dec. 30, just in time for New Year’s resolutions about eating healthier, and includes spots with Lowe reading on his phone and answering consumer questions about the Atkins diet.
Several of the initial spots tackle myths and seek to clarify confusion about the Atkins diet. For example, in one ad, Lowe explains that Atkins is a more flexible and sustainable version of the wildly popular Ketogenics diet. In another, he explains that people following Atkins can enjoy some fruit, contrary to the myth that the food group was a no-no because the high sugar and carb load of some types.
“There are still misconceptions about Atkins, so with this campaign, we wanted to educate consumers and we though the best way to do that was to ask them to share their questions on Atkins flexibility, sustainability and overall benefits,” explained Atkins Chief Marketing Officer Scott Parker.
Other spots answer questions that likely would be obvious to Atkins followers, but which might be common outside of the brand’s community. For example, in one spot Lowe answers a question about whether Atkins’ shakes are “really that good,” to which he gives an overwhelmingly positive endorsement and encourages viewers to try one for themselves.
“We are going beyond our community and educating all consumers about what Atkins has to offer,” Parker said, adding, “everyone approaches eating healthy differently.”
Parker explained that the questions in the spots come from real consumers who the brand solicited through an extensive social media question campaign that “got a tremendous response.”
He added that Atkins “chose a diverse set of questions that would educate and address different points about Atkins, so that people who both know an Atkins lifestyle – and then those who don’t – can both benefit from learning more about Atkins.”
Extending the brand’s reach
The brand also is trying to expand its consumer reach by extending its ad buy for the campaign for the first time beyond cable, according to Atkins.
Parker explained the brand is extending the ad buy to “target sports- and lifestyle-focused programming, primetime regional network television and connected TV. In addition, we expanded digital media to reach people who are focused on improving their health.”
He added that this is part of Atkins’ effort to showcase the products as “smarter snacks” that anyone can enjoy, even if the are not “doing Atkins.”
An effective partnership with Lowe
The campaign also extends for the next three years Atkins’ partnership with Lowe, who has been the brand’s official spokesman for the past two years, but now will take on added responsibility as a creative strategic partner.
“Rob’s personality is a seamless fit. He’s able to engage with consumers to help them understand how easy it is to follow an Atkins eating approach,” in part because he does, said Parker. He explained: “Rob has been living an Atkins low carb lifestyle for more than 20 years, so he speaks authentically to Atkins’ benefits and how he feels good, stays fit and sustains his energy.”
Bringing Lowe on as a spokesperson in 2018 has also helped Atkins reposition itself as a lifestyle brand, rather than a line of diet-products, at a time when weight-loss and ‘dieting’ have fallen out of style in favor of ‘healthy living.’
“We have seen great energy through our partnership with Rob as consumers can see how this lifestyle has benefitted him,” said Parker. “We also attribute this success to how we’ve gone beyond weight loss to help people who are looking to live an overall healthier lifestyle.”
With the help of Lowe and the general repositioning of Atkins’, the company saw a sales increase of 20% last year, Parker added.
Ultimately, Parker said, “our mission is focused on improving global health, which we believe is driven by how we eat – so our education and innovation is paramount to making this accessible to consumers.”
