The White House wasn’t impressed with Samsung’s apparent role in David Ortiz’s selfie with President Barack Obama.
Ortiz is one of the most popular players in Major League Baseball, so it makes sense that he has a deal with Samsung as a social media ambassador. While Ortiz has said his selfie with Ortiz was unplanned, others are speculating as to whether or not Samsung set up the picture as a publicity stunt.
Ortiz’s marketing agent told Boston.com that Samsung encouraged Big Papi to take photos with his Galaxy Note 3 during the White House visit but said the selfie was Ortiz’s idea alone. Samsung later retweeted the photo from its own account, which has more than 5 million followers.
[tweet https://twitter.com/SamsungMobileUS/status/451034331046502400 align=’center’]
White House press secretary Jay Carney addressed Samsung’s use of the selfie as promotion during Thursday’s news briefing.
“As a rule, the White House objects to attempts to use the president’s likeness for commercial purposes,” Carney said. “And we certainly object in this case.”
A Red Sox fan himself, Carney declined to comment on if White House lawyers are pursuing legal action against Samsung.
“I’m not going to get into the counsel’s discussions,” Carney said.
