Barack Obama Chia Pet!

As amazed as I was and as hilarious as it sounds, there is (well sort-of was) a Barack Obama Chia Pet. I am proud and embarrassed to say that my company had it out on the shelves April 1st. But despite the popular demand, as fast as Walgreen’s was selling them, they were pulling the Chias from the shelves. In response to complaints, after just a week, Walgreen’s removed all the Barack Obama plant pets from their stores and sent them back to the warehouse.


The Chia Pet sprouts where Barack’s hair would be and eventually forms a “foliage afro” which I completely love and appreciate. Walgreen’s made one of those rational marketing decisions to sell the Chia but was quickly criticized with public remarks of racism. The creator of the Obama Chia Pet designed 2 different versions: one he calls “determined” and one is smiling. He claims that he was inspired to create it as a show of patriotism. Critics may think otherwise of the white man and were outraged when Walgreen’s decided to market it. I don’t think it was a wrong move for us to sell it. If our executives thought the product to be racist, they would not have sold it. For offending the public (our customers) is the last thing a retail chain wants to do. Especially when the subject is a national icon and the alleged offenders are a U.S. based company that has locations in almost all states. I also don’t think it was a bad thing that we pulled the Chia Pets from shelves. Walgreen’s acted out to un-do what people had thought they did wrong. This builds an ethical, responsive, and caring company that is attempting to remain reputable after one not-so-bad decision.