I understand diet companies wanting to hawk their product by using celebrities. It’s probably one of the basic rules of marketing. Celebrities sell. But try getting a celebrity that fits for the product. If you’re selling hair styling gel, you don’t hire a bald person.

And if you’re in the weight loss business, it would seem to logically follow that you wouldn’t hire somebody who doesn’t really need to lose weight anyway. Kirstie Alley, Anna Nicole Smith, Jared -- they were brought because of the extra pounds, not in spite of them.

But Nutrisystem has bucked the traditional logic. They’ve hired former Miami Dolphins Dan Marino to sell their system. In the before picture (seen on the left), you see the image of a former NFL All-Pro quarterback in great shape. In the after picture, you see the picture of a former NFL All-Pro quarterback in great shape, wearing a different shirt.

Who’s next? Nicole Richie.

This tell me 1) that Dan Marino has a huge ego and wouldn’t let them use a before picture that showed him with a gut or 2) that society has become so health-conscious that it’d use a 6'2", 220 lb. guy with a 34-inch waistline as an example of a person who needs to drop a few lbs.

Nutrisystem is hatching a brilliant strategy here. I think I know what Nutrisystem is thinking. Yeah, most of society is overweight. But a lot of people aren’t very overweight. And some aren’t at all, but still would like to look better. So let's appeal to perfectionists. We know that no one is ever be truly satisfied with their body, and if a former pro athlete with Hollywood looks finds some added success with our product, other people might too.