Times Square Obama Billboard to Come Down
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters Friday that his understanding is that the White House counsel's office "spoke with the company and that the company is supposed to take that ad down."
The large Times Square billboard shows an Associated Press picture of the president in China wearing a Weatherproof jacket. The company's president, Freddie Stollmack, told the New York Post that he did not think it was necessary to get the White House's permission to use the picture because the billboard does not explicitly state that the president endorses the company's products. He told ABC News that the company had "no intention of taking it down" and was even looking for other places to post the ad.
But after Stollmack spoke to the White House counsel's office, he reportedly agreed to remove the billboard. Fox News reports that the White House also sent a letter requesting the removal, noting that the president's image is not meant to be used to sell products.
A White House official told CBS News earlier this week that the ad is "clearly misleading" because it suggests an approval or endorsement of the company on the part of the president.
The company told the Associated Press the billboard will come down in two weeks.