Hey Suze, The Economy Stinks. Will You Promote My Detergent?
The self-help queen of money gains serious popularity as American economy tanks.
Whether you are a twentysomething trying to fix her credit score, or an Amazon customer looking at self-help books, Suze Orman is probably a familiar face. Now, with the Fed sending confusing, erratic signals to Main Street, who are Americans turning to?
Apparently, Suze. And not just Main Street, but Wall Street too. As recession has seemed more likely, both companies and banks have been pleading with her for endorsements– creating concerns among critics that she might have a conflict of interest. Laundry detergent companies, the Got Milk folks, and banks like Wells Fargo have all asked Orman to consider endorsing them. Orman has agreed to some products endorsements, but generally stays out of banking, believing it would be unethical to do so. Some critics argue that she doesn’t watch her potential conflicts of interest closely enough, and should avoid commercial endorsements to protect her consumer watchdog image.
But could a milk mustache be a conflict of interest? The self-help guru doesn’t think so. Orman picked up $25k for agreeing to don a foamy smile. In times like these, a Suze Orman cameo might be worth more than, let’s say, a Sarah Jessica Parker endorsement.
Sarah Who? As the economy crumbles, a Suze Orman endorsement is where it's at.
October 17th, 2008 at 9:21 am
Becky–this is hilarious in a sad sort of way. I see Suze everywhere, but for some reason I thought it was just NBC promoting her. I’m not surprised companies are looking at her to sell their products. She represents an everyday type woman who is “smart” with managing her money. It should be interesting to see what endorsements she actually accepts and see how long it lasts. Thanks for passing along the info…
October 17th, 2008 at 9:53 am
Like the post. Maybe Obama will make her Treasury secretary!
October 18th, 2008 at 8:32 am
You’ve got to be kidding me.
Suze Orman goes on CNBC, castigates Wall Street, drums up some righteous indignation on the part of Main Street investors and, in the process, becomes an even bigger celebrity.
I’m glad to see that someone is making money during the financial crisis. But, there is a real problem with using adversity to build a brand. I mean: If Orman really wants to help people understand what is going on and, at least potentially, protect themselves, hawking milk and consumer products is not the way to go. She loses a degree of journalistic integrity and becomes a caricature at a time when people are clamoring for a sense of security.
I feel as though BusinessWeek’s Peter Coy has done a good job of giving the blow-by-blow (http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/oct2008/db20081010_744839.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_top+story).
Moreover, he’s not jockeying for a book deal.
October 19th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Nice piece, but I think you should have given the New York Times credit as the source for the piece. Next time, a stronger point of view.