Spokesmodel of the Year

Two thirds of Americans are overweight, but model Rachel Hunter is not one of them. At 5-foot-10 and 147 pounds, Rod Stewart's ex-wife seems like an unusual choice to be a Slim-Fast celebrity spokesperson. And on Monday she told NEWSWEEK that she is happy with her current weight and has not tried the diet shake. And yet, she is the face of Slim-Fast's new campaign—starting this week—called "Find Your Slim." Press materials urge consumers to log onto iVillage.com to join Hunter and enter a 10-week "Find Your Slim" before-and-after photo-and-essay contest. Press materials say Hunter "will incorporate Slim-Fast into her life as an approach to reaching her personal weight-loss goal and will encourage consumers to do the same by setting a simple, doable weight-loss goal of between 10 and 20 pounds." A Slim-Fast spokesman attempted to clarify, saying:  "We do anticipate that Rachel will, when she needs to, use Slim-Fast." But he added: "She is not obliged to use Slim-Fast. ... It's less about the product and more about the campaign."

So does using a spokesperson who doesn't even pretend to use the product help a company's promotion efforts?  Experts like Americus Reed, a professor of marketing at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, say the company is taking a risk—just like Pepsi did when they hired Michael Jackson, who was quoted saying he didn't drink the beverage.   "It can only undermine the effort and create skepticism," he explains. And will consumers understand that Hunter is promoting Slim-Fast's campaign, not the actual drink? "They would not make that distinction," he says. Hunter, 36, talks with NEWSWEEK Karen Springen about why she signed up to promote this campaign. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK:  Slim-Fast representatives called you in March, asking you to endorse their new "Find Your Slim" campaign. Were you insulted, thinking that they thought you were fat?
Rachel Hunter: No. It was more about the message that I decided to do it. I think it's a really good, positive message for women to "find your slim."

How much did you weigh then?
I still weigh the same. I haven't started taking Slim-Fast. My message is more that I agree with what they're saying. If I've got a photo shoot coming up, then I would try it. It's not really about me going on Slim-Fast.

You haven't started it yet?
No. I have kids, and I skip breakfast in the morning, and I have to deal with weight maintenance constantly. As I've gotten older, you have to maintain. I'm kind of more than willing to try their product.

You're 5-foot-10 and 147 pounds?
Yes. My weight fluctuates. It can go from 140 to 147. People get stuck on numbers constantly. It's not about numbers. It's about how a woman feels about herself. We have these numbers in our heads, and really it's about how you feel.