Krispy Kreme Name to Be Struck from Children’s Clinic
We should have known it wouldn’t last. The powers that be at UNC are apparently yielding to outside agitators who don’t understand the logic of putting Krispy Kreme into the name of their children’s specialty clinic. No more “Krispy Kreme Challenge Children’s Clinic.” In a UNC faculty meeting last week, the university announced that the new name will be “The NC State Park Scholars Children’s Specialty Clinic.” The new new name reflects the student scholars who raise money for the clinic instead of the doughnuts featured in their charity event.
Back in October, the decision to put a legendary doughnut brand name into the name of UNC’s specialty children’s clinic sparked lots of laughs and agitation. The PR folks at UNC did not get the joke. We’re naming it after the race, not the doughnuts, they explained.
This is a race where people run 2.5 miles, gulp down a dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts, run the 2.5-mile return trip, and then see what comes up. Sadly, at this year’s race, a 58-year-old man died shortly after starting the race.
It took six months, a public outcry from faculty, and a petition from the Center for Science in the Public Interest. But UNC has figured out that putting Krispy Kreme into the name of a children’s clinic just won’t fly.
This time there’s no press release. “We screwed up” is not on UNC’s list of talking points.
Click here for more from NPR and here for more from the Technician.
The Shiny Glaze of a Krispy Kreme Doughnut, photograph © sea turtle / flickr
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April 28, 2016
April 28, 2016 at 7:36 am, Allen Browne said:
UNC is better at basketball.
April 28, 2016 at 7:46 am, Ted said:
Agreed!
April 28, 2016 at 8:33 am, Joan Ifland said:
There is no excuse for the ignorance about the connection between processed foods and illness in children. Thank goodness for the CSPI.
April 28, 2016 at 9:03 am, Kelsie said:
Yikes
April 28, 2016 at 9:52 am, Ted said:
Well said!
April 28, 2016 at 10:31 am, paul childs said:
This goes to show how accurate intuitive senses can be. If you’re doing something that your gut ‘feels’ is a bit off, and the PR people are going ‘No, it’s fine, and here’s the twisted reasoning that makes it fine’. Your gut is right.
PR people are like lawyers, you’re paying them to say what you want to hear.
April 28, 2016 at 1:59 pm, Ted said:
Well said, Paul.
April 29, 2016 at 4:17 am, Mary-Jo Overwater said:
I wonder if the Ronald McDonald House Charities is seeing this and if they feel affected? They do so much great work in helping families with sick children, but, I remember thinking and also saying, to all the pediatricians and pediatric nurses I worked with and anyone else I could find at the time (now I’m going back 40+ years), incredulously,’what the…?’ No one, then, thought it was or would be a problem. The thinking, then, was that sick children are just as entitled to popular ‘treats’ as any other child and pediatric medical professionals felt it was a good thing — it ‘normalized’ children suffering from diseases. Ironically, of course, burgers, fries, breaded chicken nuggets, soda, etc, became ‘normal’ meals vs. treats in these very same 40 years, now strongly associated with at least 2 big diseases afflicting children today — obesity and Type 2 Diabetes. I’m not even sure how involved MacDonald’s is with funding the houses now. Maybe it’s time for a revisit!