Back at the end of March I was dismayed to see a Barack Obama "Determined Pose" Chia Pet for sale at Walgreens, and wrote about it here on GONE, as well as on the WindyCitizen.com
All over the country, other Walgreen's shoppers weren't impressed, either. The doll was removed from Walgreen's shelves, though not before this North Ave. shop owner had purchased one, and began planting Obama's hair.
Here are two photos of Chia Obama, one taking in early April, and one snapped yesterday afternoon while en route to a meeting. Both shots are of the same chia pet, in the same window.
Did the owner decide it wasn't worth watering anymore?? Note: There are other healthy plants in this shop. Why was this one neglected? The hairs on Obama's head kind of look like from a weeping willow tree....
When Walgreen's first pulled the plug on Chia Obama, I heard a radio interview with the man that created the Chia line. He's an ardent Obama supporter, and in the interview, he said that he created Chia Obama because he thought people it would make them smile and be happy, which is how he felt regarding our new President. Unfortunately for him, rather than communicate the original positive intent of the creation, a new person at Walgreens discontinued their carrying of this product. According to the creator of the Chia line, he had a good and very long standing relationship with Walgreen's management but did not know this new person. So it sounds like there was a lot of miscommunications including what got put out to the public.
ReplyDeleteIs this the first U.S. president the Chia creator has ever been inspired by? No other president had been turned into a chia pet until Obama. Other characters that you could grow a plant on their head via the world of chia are Taz, and Scooby Doo, among others. We are a consumer driven society , and yes Hope can be marketed again, and again, but turning our president into a kitschy plant just does not emote warm fuzzies, plus I suspect it had everything to do with Obama being African American, and the texture of his hair, too. The creator that was interviewed might be a huge Obama fan, and supporter, but he can express that support in other ways. Now if 100% of the proceeds of the sales of Obama chias goes directly to healthcare reform, now we are talking!!
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