Kerre Woodham: Celebs think twice about ad campaigns

Richard Long lost $50k of his own money when Hanover Finance went down the gurgler. Photo / Herald on Sunday

Putting your name to a product is a risky business. Whether it's a company or a charity you align yourself with, you can come a cropper if you don't choose wisely.

When I first started on NewsTalk ZB, I was asked to host a tour to India. It was all five-star luxury and gorgeousness and the travel agent was a smooth-talking fragrant young thing who spared no expense with glossy brochures and meet-and-greet evenings.

But a few months before we were due to go, he did a runner, taking with him his American partner and the deposits of our tour group. "But he was so charming," I wailed to the radio sales manager who'd put us together.

"That's a prerequisite for a con-man isn't it?" he replied through gritted teeth, having lost a considerable amount of commission as well.

As it turned out, the people who lost money were refunded through the parent company. But if they hadn't been, I would have felt morally obliged to repay them, given it was my name on the brochures and I had been the face of the tour.

However, it seems a bit stiff that new laws to be brought in could sting celebs up to $1 million if the financial companies they advertise go broke.

Richard Long and Colin Meads are two who spring to mind. Long, of course, was the face and voice of Hanover Finance and Meads fronted ads for Provincial Finance, which went bust owing investors more than $300 million.

They are both men with a natural authority but would you really invest your life savings with a company simply because a retired newsreader or an ex-All Black told you to?

And to be fair, Long didn't know he was selling a pup - he lost 50 grand of his own money when Hanover went down the gurgler.

Justice Minister Simon Power announced the fine as part of an overhaul of the securities laws this week, and that will probably mean the end of known faces fronting for finance companies.

They simply won't want to take the risk that they will be left holding the can when dodgy dealers do a flit.