Celebrity Spokeswomen Melissa Joan Hart and Ana Gasteyer Are Much Needed Voices in Dieting

By Elizabeth Simmons for DietsInReview.com

First came the announcement of Melissa Joan Hart (Clarissa Explains It All, Sabrina the Teenage Witch) as a new brand ambassador for Nutrisystem. Hart lost 20 pounds on the meal delivery system after the birth of her third child. "The program is really delivering results for me and I look forward to long term success, staying motivated and helping others do the same," she said in a press release.



Hart is just the first in a whole group of spokespeople for Nutrisystem coming in 2013. "She mirrors our values and will resonate with our customers as authentic. Moving forward, you'll see us have an appropriate mix of inspiring celebrities and real life customers who have also enjoyed success," said Nutrisystem new Chief Marketing Officer Keira Krausz. Her leadership comes under the direction of the company's first female CEO, Dawn Zier.

The move to work with Hart opens Nutrisystem to a generation of customers who barely know their other spokeswoman Marie Osmond but spent many afternoons on Nickelodeon watching Clarissa easily explain the angst of 90's teens. Those viewers are now adults themselves with families, careers, and no doubt weight concerns of their own. It's a savvy choice by the company.

Learn more about Weight Watchers here or Nutrisystem here.

Earlier this spring, Ana Gasteyer (Saturday Night Live, Suburgatory) was named the new Weight Watchers Online spokeswoman. Gasteyer was a member of the online program for some time before being approached by the company to be a representative. It was her humorous tweets about the Weight Watchers points that got the company's attention and led to her ad campaign. One example: "Hey @Weightwatchers, How many Activity points for sweatily trying to get out of a Spanx undershirt?".

Gasteyer extended her humor beyond her Twitter page and helped create her commercials, both available to view online now. She wrote the lyrics to, "Sleeveless" which is a riff on "Fever" made famous by Peggy Lee, and "I Lost My Weight Online" based on Nat King Cole's Version of "Orange Colored Sky."

Advertising their product with humor is a new direction for Weight Watchers. Usually their focus is on the encouraging and inspirational stories like those of other spokeswomen Jennifer Hudson and Jessica Simpson.

On the other hand, Nutrisystem is continuing their usual advertising method by having a celebrity talk about their weight loss success. However, with Hart, it seems so much more relatable. To the viewers, she's just a mom doing her best to stay healthy while keeping up with her family.

For Gasteyer and Weight Watchers, the "realness" comes from sharing her thoughts online. During an interview with Weight Watchers, she said, "Weight is an awful subject; it's uncomfortable, it's human and tweeting is a natural creative outlet for my insane inner monologue. It's those very, very private moments that we get to reveal ourselves."

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