The Audacity Of Ads: Weatherproof Ad Shows Obama Without WH Consent

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by Robert Quigley | 9:46 am, January 7th, 2010

» 3 comments

Even as President Obama‘s approval rating hits its speed bumps, one company, Weatherproof, is trying to exploit his popularity in an unauthorized ad that looms over Times Square.

Weatherproof bought an AP photo of Obama wearing a Weatherproof jacket during his trip to China and ran it without permission. Now, the White House wants them to take it down.

In a press statement, White House spokesman Ben LaBolt said that “The White House has a longstanding policy disapproving of the use of the President’s name and likeness for commercial purposes.

Though Weatherproof has claimed that they didn’t think permission was necessary, since the ad wasn’t technically an endorsement, this seems far-fetched: more likely, they were counting on a free dose of publicity, whether or not the ad would have to be taken down prematurely. Does this count?

Will Weatherproof’s piggybacking stunt be worth it? According to Ben Smith, the German clothing manufacturer is likely setting itself up for a fall, given New York’s legal restrictions against using a person’s likeness in advertising without his or her consent:

A couple of sources, including a New York lawyer who knows the state law on the issue well, say the company’s on quite thin legal ice, citing section 50 of New York Civil Rights law, which says that “A person, firm or corporation that uses for advertising purposes, or for the purposes of trade, the name, portrait or picture of any living person without having first obtained the written consent of such person, or if a minor of his or her parent or guardian, is guilty of a misdemeanor.”

Woody Allen won a substantial settlement against American Apparel under the law.

Last night, Fox News reported on the controversy (h/t Breitbart):

barack obama, Ben Smith, obama, Obama Weatherproof Ad, President Barack Obama, Weatherproof, Weatherproof Jacket

http://www.uselessbeauty.com Vidiot

see also PETA using Michelle Obama in an anti-fur ad, without her consent to use her likeness.
ImNotBlue

It’s a strange issue. Yes, they seem to have legally bought the photo… but do they still have the right to use the image? And what does it say (if anything) about Obama? Is he seen as more of a rockstar than a politician… and is that a good thing? Is this further proof of his over saturation, and should the Democrats get worried that 2 more years of this, and people will be so bored of Obama, that the election will go very poorly?

I don’t know… as this has never really been done before, I think we’ll just have to wait and see…
hkyplayer

This reminds me of the plastered Stalin images that were all over the soviet Union. Or the north Korean leader who is also on billboards all over North Korea.

The government should be ran by the People not by an idol or one single person…You know at one time the Newspapers and Colleges and the Media in Germany loved Hitler also….