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Last updated: Tuesday, January 13, 2009

In the past week, Michael Phelps signed a deal worth more than $1 million to advertise Mazda in China. Jerry Seinfeld earned a reported $10 million to appear in Microsoft’s recent television campaign. But the person who is arguably the biggest celebrity pitchman in the world is not earning a penny for his work. Barack Obama, the president-elect, has said repeatedly how much his BlackBerry means to him and how he is dreading the prospect of being forced to give it up once he takes office because of legal and security concerns. “I’m still clinging to my BlackBerry,” Obama said Wednesday in an interview with CNBC and The New York Times. “They’re going to pry it out of my hands.” What could the “BlackBerry president” charge for his plugs for the device if he were not a public servant? More than $25 million, marketing experts say, and maybe as much as $50 million. “This would be almost the biggest endorsement deal in the history of endorsements,” said Doug Shabelman, the president of Burns Entertainment, which arranges deals between celebrities and companies. “He’s consistently seen using it and consistently in the news arguing — and arguing with issues of national security and global welfare — how he absolutely needs this to function on a daily basis.” Obama is an ideal marketing representative, agents say — popular, always in the news and explicit about his attachment to the product. “You always want the celebrity to be a good fit with your brand, and is anybody considered a better communicator right now than Barack Obama, or a better networker?” said Fran Kelly, the chief executive of the advertising agency Arnold Worldwide, who estimated that an endorsement by Obama would be worth $25 million. “It couldn’t have a better spokesperson.” Shabelman put the value even higher, at $50 million or more, because the…

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Obama and BlackBerry: Match Made in Publicity Heaven

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