Casino Ad Pulled per White House Request

17-05-2009

The new land casino that is about to open mid-March 2009 has agreed to take down their ad that features a faux President Obama. However, this is not because the new President takes offense in this parody. Rather, President Obama even shares his sentiments that he is more flattered than offended in any way. Obama even claims that the ad is able to display his economic message in a very positive way, that even if the ad is somewhat controversial, most viewers would probably be amused at it, not angry. Still, the ad was pulled “out of respect for the White House,” as quoted.

Ad was CEO Dennis Gomes’ baby

The concept of the ad actually comes from the CEO of the gaming operations for the Cordish Company himself, Mr. Dennis Gomes. The ad shows the back of the Obama lookalike, who then addresses a waving crowd holding banners everywhere. The ‘President’ then shouts, pretty much the way Obama enthusiastically delivered his campaign before, “Hello, Indianapolis!” ‘Obama’ then continues how the time has come for change in Indiana, that all the work paid off in making Indiana Live! Casino far superior to just about any enterprise operating in Indiana. There are also slogans characteristic of Obama all over the ad, as well as disclaimers on how the ad is a paid parody.

The White House’s Reaction to the Ad

The ad centered on “change”, which is portrayed by the casino’s changing of facility. The casino is actually moving from a meager temporary facility just 75,000 in sq. ft. to a new one that is roughly three times bigger than the original one. This then led t mainstream press, which reached the White House in no time. Karen Dunn, Obama’s legal adviser, then contacted the company, stating that the White House has an outstanding policy on disapproving the use of the President’s image or name for the promotion of commercial enterprises.

Indiana Live! Casino’s Quick Action

The company behind the ad then decided to take down the material off air, as a sign of respect for President Obama and the White House. Still, this brings a lot of publicity for the casino, which is due to open March 13, 2009, and this should entice more visitors to check it out come opening night.