 Click to Enlarge It's a woman in a blue designer dress sitting on a White House desk. Sound familiar? The White House thought so. In fact, the White House told Tommy Hilfiger to pull the ads. Although it's a set in L.A. and the model is fairer (and trimmer) than Monica Lewinsky, the White House dug out an old statute to force Hilfiger to recall the campaign. "It's standard operating procedure for us to send a letter when the White House is being used in an advertisement," said White House mouthpiece Amy Weiss. "They've agreed to withdraw the campaign, and we're grateful that they're complying with our request." Well sure they are. Ruth Pachman, Hilfiger's mouthpiece, the ads were "designed to capture the positive spirit of American democracy. It was meant to be a tribute." A tribute to how successfully companies like Hilfiger have made sex the only newsworthy issue? Maybe. Hilfiger: "A legal officer from the White House notified the company by letter of a technical White House policy precluding the use of the White House or its likeness in advertising imagery. The company will comply with the White House's request and no longer utilize White House imagery in its advertising or in its promotional materials." Translation: "We've gotten a lot more press and recognition from this than we could have dreamed. We're happy." |