White House upset with Samsung as president appears to promote the brand

Yesterday, we told you all about the selfie that Boston Red Sox star David Ortiz took with the president. While the President of the United States is not supposed to be involved in promoting  products, the selfie with Ortiz and Obama was later retweeted around the world by Samsung, making it appear as though the president was promoting the Korean manufacturer. "As a rule the White House objects to attempts to use the president's likeness for commercial purposes," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said. "And we certainly object in this case."

What the president and his handlers did not know, was that the very day before Ortiz snapped the picture, the slugger had signed a deal with Samsung to endorse its phones. Like Ellen Degeneres before him, Ortiz was handed a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and was given a quick tutorial on how to take selfies with the phablet. For its part, Samsung clammed up on Thursday. Press Secretary Carney did not mention whether White House attorneys have been in touch with Samsung about ceasing its use of the picture.


Unlike Ellen's selfie, which became a huge media event, and gave Samsung more promotion for the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 than it could have ever dreamed of receiving, Ortiz' selfie has not received the same attention. In fact, Ted Marzilli, CEO of YouGov's BrandIndex, says that 24 hours after the event, there has been no movement in the perception of Samsung's brand.

source: WSJ