UK model Peaches Geldof has become the latest celebrity ‘face’ to be dropped from an advertising campaign after scandalous allegations about her private life.

Sir Bob’s 21 year-old daughter was dumped by underwear brand Ultimo after topless – and decidedly unflattering, seedy and blotchy - pictures of her appeared on the internet allegedly taken during a ‘heroin-fuelled romp’.Peaches has denied the drug allegations but Ultimo has been busy purging her image from shop displays. 

If fellow UK model Kate Moss’s experience is anything to go by, then Peaches needn’t cancel the Gold Card yet. Moss lost lucrative marketing deals when a newspaper alleged she had taken cocaine but has since earned millions fronting even more high-profile campaigns. Marketers’ memories will probably prove equally short when it comes to Tiger Woods.

Of course, the humiliation can work both ways. Sometimes it can be the product that embarrasses the celebrity rather than the other way round. 

Comedian Mike King, who used to front a successful campaign promoting New Zealand pork products, went public calling for the “callous and evil” practice of crate farming to be outlawed after going along with a group of animal activists when they broke into a pig farm.

Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond found himself the butt of his fellow hosts’ humour over his ‘celebrity promoter’ role for the trouble-plagued Telecom XT network – although the $200,000 he was reported to have earned to front the campaign probably softened the blow.

Labour commerce and justice spokeswoman Lianne Dalziel also recently blasted Sir Colin Meads and others for being “celebrity promoters” of failed finance companies.

“What do they know about the products they promote?” said Ms Dalziel. “Should they be allowed to be the face of integrity that belies the quality of the product on offer?”

With so many celebrity ‘face’ scandals of late, might the public be starting to share Ms Dalziel’s views on the matter – and see through the hype?

With regard to Peaches’ Geldof’s sacking, a Miss Ultimo spokesperson claims: "Miss Ultimo is a brand geared towards a young female audience and as a company we have a social responsibility to ensure we are promoting only positive role models that young women can aspire to.”

Sure, Peaches has more of a ‘real woman’ body shape than most of the pin thin catwalk creatures and the campaign pics showed her posing seductively alongside an array of milkshakes and cupcakes – ‘hey look, this girl eats’ – but even before the heroin claims, how many young women aspired to follow Peaches’ example of a skinful of dodgy tattoos and a failed teenage marriage?

A Massey University study published in January examined the effect of endorsement announcements in the United States. They showed a slightly negative effect on stock prices, suggesting ambivalence in the market about their effectiveness.

Stuff NZ also recently quoted marketing expert Jack Trout as saying the more closely aligned the product being endorsed with the public’s perception of the endorser, the more likely it was to sell. For instance, Tiger Woods’ endorsement of Nike golf balls boosted sales but a similar promotional role with Buick cars was less successful.

So, if the public are becoming more discerning when it comes to being swept up by celebrity endorsements will they start to keep their wallets in their pockets in the face of such campaigns? 

It will take a brave brand to be the first to drop the celebrity ‘face’ approach – but given the vast pay cheques to celebrities and the risks involved, many might be starting to think that the straightforward press release and anonymous models of old were a lot less expensive and a lot less trouble.