Samsung: Ortiz's presidential selfie was a promotional stunt
When President Obama welcomed the Boston Red Sox to the White House on Tuesday to celebrate their 2013 World Series Championship, slugger David Ortiz presented the president with an honorary Red Sox jersey.
Known for his fun-loving antics, "Big Papi" also lifted his cellphone and snapped a selfie with Obama, making the most of the moment -- or so it seemed. It was later revealed to be a publicity stunt for Samsung.
The trade magazine Sports Business Journal had reported Monday that Ortiz is the newest social media insider for the company, building on the momentum he's had since winning the 2013 World Series MVP award. The selfie seems to have been his first act in his new role.
After the presidential selfie was posted on Twitter, Samsung Mobile promoted the Tweet, resulting in 39,200 retweets and 45,000 favorites by Wednesday afternoon. When followers began to question Samsung's promotion, Business Insider noted, the company had no choice but to reveal the stunt.
"This photo was taken with a #GalaxyNote3,'' Samsung Mobile U.S. tweeted.Samsung confirmed that Ortiz took the photo with a Galaxy Note 3, but a spokesperson for the company declined to comment on the terms of any partnership with Ortiz. Samsung emailed this statement to CBS News:
We were thrilled to see the special, historic moment David captured with his Galaxy Note 3 during his White House visit. It was an honor that our device helped him capture such an incredible and genuine moment of joy and excitement. Similar to the selfie Ellen was able to capture during the Oscars, this was an opportunity for David to share the incredible moment with his fans.This is the second time Samsung is behind a seemingly-spontaneous moment in social media history. The company also sponsored the Ellen DeGeneres group selfie at the Academy Awards that was shared so many times it crashed Twitter. The talk show host sported what looked like the new Samsung Galaxy S5 onstage, but used an iPhone backstage.