OK, this is going too far- Chia Obama and Obama "Flavor of the Week"

masuki bance

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Tue Mar-24-09 01:38 PM
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OK, this is going too far- Chia Obama and Obama "Flavor of the Week"

Joseph Enterprises' plant with hair grown from seed is modeled after President Barack Obama

Chia Obama

The Chia Obama is shown at the International Home & Housewares Show on Monday at McCormick Place. The plants have been test-marketed in Chicago and Tampa, with an official product launch set for April 2. (Tribune photo by Bradley Piper / March 23, 2009)

In a world occupied by President Barack Obama commemorative plates and coins, perhaps the Chia Obama was inevitable.

San Francisco-based Joseph Enterprises, the company behind the Chia Pet and The Clapper, is rolling out its own brand of patriotism with a clay statuette of the commander in chief. Just add water and Obama's hair grows faster than the national deficit.

"It's unbelievable the interest we've had on the product," says Joe Pedott, president of Joseph Enterprises and the company's namesake, speaking by telephone Monday from the International Home & Housewares Show at McCormick Place.

Although the official launch of the product is April 2 for stores such as Walgreens, the Chia Obama has been rolling out slowly on the Internet and in Chicago and Tampa, its first two test markets.

Last year, someone�Pedott can't remember who�suggested that he sell a Chia Obama.

"I sloughed it off immediately," says Pedott, a Wicker Park native who founded the company in 1952.

But Pedott's subconscious got the better of him.

"Then, I was dreaming. I get my best ideas dreaming," he says. "I dreamed that I put out a very serious, pro-American, supportive Chia. ... The president is a sacred person. I asked, 'Can I take that fun feeling and turn it into something serious?' So I did it."

That's not to say his staff was completely supportive. But Pedott made an executive decision and ordered 160,000 of the busts. They come in two varieties: a "determined" pose and a smaller number of "happy" statuettes.

This will be the first president with his own garden-headed Chia, Pedott says�which is not without risk.

"I've never sold a Chia Pet outside Christmas," he says.

Others who share the Chia honor: Homer Simpson, SpongeBob SquarePants and Scooby-Doo.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-talk-obama-chiamar24,0,6150429.story

Russian Ad Featuring a Cartoonish Obama Prompts Cries of Racism
An Ice Cream Ad Calling Obama the "Flavor of the Week" Is Prompting a Debate

This isn't the first time President Barack Obama's image has been exploited in international advertising, but it might be the most bizarre. The idea behind this Russian ad, from Voskhod, for the ice cream bar Duet, is obvious, as are the racial overtones. But do we detect a bit of a sneer in the copy? The line "Flavor of the Week" does suggest that Mr. Obama's popularity was based on little more than fashion. And in these stormy days it's difficult not to read those rainbows in the background as ironic.

The ad is via Ads of the World, where there's a vibrant debate going on in the comments section. Sample: "his is the worst ad ever made. supposed to be funny but turned out to be just racist!"
http://adage.com/globalnews/article?article_id=135314