Grey Goose slammed for White House stunt

Premium vodka brand Grey Goose has been criticised for its attempt to send two “social media superstars” to the distinguished White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

President Obama addresses attendees at last year’s White House Correspondents Dinner (Photo: Youtube)

With a history spanning back to 1920, the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner is a glittering gala event that takes place on the last Saturday of April.

It gathers the cream of America’s political reporters that cover the goings on of the president and the presidential office for a night of wining, dining and humour – usually at the expense of the incumbent president, whose duty it is to attend.

However, Grey Goose’s attempt to send two so-called Youtube sensations – Iman Crosson (an impersonator of president Obama) and Philip DeFranco – to tweet, take photos and give “their millions of followers to-the-minute updates” of the event has been met with scorn, forcing the brand to back down.

The Bacardi-owned vodka company was gifted two tickets to the event by The Atlantic magazine – common practice for publications who wish to curry favour with advertisers – which in turn passed the invitations on to its Youtube ambassadors to create the publicity stunt, according to the Washington Post.

Grey Goose, who did not give a full comment to WP, has been contacted by the drinks business for comment.

Christi Parsons, LA Times Washington reporter and president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, was deeply critical of the attempt by Grey Goose to infiltrate the event. She is quoted in WP saying, “Our group exists to argue strenuously for more openness and transparency from the White House, not to lend our name to corporate publicity stunts.

“The mission of the WHCA is clear and we have had a longstanding commitment to not engaging in the commercialisation of our organisation or our dinner,” she said.

The Atlantic apologised for its part in the matter, with spokesperson Emily Lenzer telling the paper that it made “a mistake in communicating to Grey Goose that they could share their dinner tickets with others.”