The Merchandising of Obama

Today I promised my son that he could watch the Ohio State/Michigan game at a friends house. As we were driving there, we both noticed a man in the vehicle next to us with a knitted cap on. It didn't seem weird to either one of us that this man was wearing a hat. It is about 25 degrees outside today. What caught our attention was the word "OBAMA" silkscreened randomly all over the hat. My 15year old son turned to me and said, "Mom do you think that President-Elect Obama gets any of that money that people make from putting his name everywhere and on everything?"

I had to pause for a moment.

The thought had actually crossed my mind several times, during the primaries and the election seasons. I saw buttons,t-shirts, purses, towels, wristbands, umbrellas, you name it. If it could be painted,written, or silkscreened on and sold believe you me these people did it. I couldn't help wondering though if the campaign saw any share of the money that these vendors were raking in.

When Obama came to Toledo in March, my mother was bold enough to ask several of the vendors we came across, if they were giving a part of their proceeds to the campaign. After several no's from some we eventually found one that did say yes. He informed us that the vendors were supposed to have a permit to sell their wares at the rally. And in agreement with receiving the permit to set up shop and make a profit, they had to turn over a percentage of their earnings to the campaign. We seemed to think it was fair enough. Some of the vendors disagreed with it and tried to sell their items anyway. Eventually they were asked to leave the area.

Now the election is over. The Obama campaign cannot police activity such as this, as they did before. We are now witnessing people looking to make a quick buck by exploiting the historic event of electing the first Black President in this country. Coins have been minted, DVDs have been made, decorative plates, more t-shirts, more stickers, more buttons, etc.

I am not saying that people shouldn't do what they can to provide others with merchandise to show their support and enthusiasm of Obama's upcoming Presidency. What I am saying is if you are going to do it, then do it correctly. Get permission from those that are in charge of such things. You never know when you may walk right into a copyright infringement case. And for crying out loud, don't make something that looks tacky! Or display it in an area that is not befitting the President.

For example, I went to a corner store to get a bottle of juice, I looked up and there was the most tacky t-shirt hanging up next to a display of malt liquor.

Hmmmm, NO!

While it is encouraging to see people jumping into the entrepreneur arena, let us do so with dignity and class. Bootlegging merchandise is not the way to show your support for the incoming President. The first thing that anyone should do is check and make sure that they are not infringing on any copyright laws. Also, be sure to pay taxes on what you sell, and please, please,please people, put out a quality product. Use quality materials. Just because you can print out a iron-on transfer from your computer does not mean you should mass produce that way.

True, we are a capitalist nation and there will always be people who are looking for the next big thing to cash in on. If you are looking for that opportunity, please do so with dignity and class.