If you like to keep an eye on viral stuff, you might have come across David Ortiz’s selfie with U.S. President Barack Obama. The hitter for Boston Red Sox met the president after the White House invited the World Series winning team for a visit. At the event Ortiz asked the president if he would pose for a selfie, which he did. Ortiz tweeted it, and the image was then retweeted by Samsung Mobile’s official Twitter account. Ortiz is sponsored by Samsung, and he used a Galaxy Note 3 to take the selfie, this has led to allegations that this whole thing might have been a marketing ploy.
The New York Daily News asked Samsung if it had indeed orchestrated the picture. In a statement, Samsung said that its officials had worked with Ortiz and the team “on how to share images with fans,” but it wasn’t aware of what Ortiz would be able to capture. Ortiz claims that his selfie with President Obama was spontaneous and that he wasn’t paid by Samsung for it.
Whatever the case may be, the White House isn’t too happy. Folks at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave tell CBS News senior White House correspondent Bill Plante that they had “no idea” this was a marketing ploy by Samsung. Plante says that White House officials aren’t happy about this, but they’ve not asked Ortiz or Samsung to take it down.
What do you think, spontaneous or sponsored?
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