A larger-than-life President Barack Obama became a presidential pitchman Wednesday on a Times Square billboard that used his photo without permission.
Outerwear company Weatherproof used a recent news photo of the president in front of the Great Wall in Badaling, China, for the advertisement, with the tagline "A Leader In Style."
White House deputy press secretary Bill Burton said Wednesday that the White House has a long-standing policy disapproving of the use of Obama's name and likeness for commercial purposes. MSNBC
The company's defense is really lame, but now it's getting lots of free advertisement:
But Weatherproof did not seek permission from the White House, nor does it believe it was necessary to do so since the billboard does not say Obama endorses the product.
"He didn't come to us. It's just a great looking jacket on a great looking president," Stollmack said.
