Top 5 Obama Hustles During Inauguration

President and FLOTUS

by Lamar Tyler | on January 22nd, 2009 | 17 comments

Every street entrepreneur imaginable descended on the nations capital to hawk junk be a part of the historic inauguration of our 44th President Barack Obama. President Obama has already provided an economic stimulus to these folks. Here’s our list for the top 5 Obama hustles we witnessed over the weekend.

1. Pepsi – Amazing how Pepsi has jacked Obama’s logo and didn’t even play it off. If you were anywhere near DC recently you couldn’t help but see an Obama Pepsi logo somewhere with an Obamaesque slogan i.e. Tomorrow, Hope, etc… with the letter o being their new symbol. They’ve totally pimped the game and Coke better watch out. Brilliant marketing earns Pepsi our number 1 spot. There’s no way T-Shirt dude can compete the the R&D/Marketing department of a fortune 500 company.

2. Obama Man- We say the cat pictured above next to the Verizon Center (home of the Washington Wizards and Capitals) gets our vote for the number 2 spot. This guy dressed like a ghetto super hero on roller skates doing splits and such. It actually wasn’t a bad idea but he was losing money left and right. He didn’t have a box or hat or anything in front of him for folks to drop stuff in so it just looked like he was there to have a good time. People were talking pictures with him and of him and not dropping the brother a dime. I didn’t even realize he was asking for money until TheMom said she saw someone with him asking folks but if I didn’t notice them they didn’t ask loud enough and weren’t close enough to him. Obama Man holla at me in 2013, I’ll show you how to get this money!

3. T Shirt Dude- which one do you say? Take a pick. There were as many people selling T-Shirts this past weekend as there were tourists. They ranged from 50 dollar T-Shirts that were bedazzled to 5 dollar T-Shirts that looked like they were only worth 1 dollar.

4. Button people – The button is back on the rise. I didn’t think people still wore buttons unless you worked at TGI Fridays but with the election of Barack Obama the old school button has made a full scale return.

5. Laminated Paper Guy- This was ridiculous. A guy on a corner selling a laminated front page of the Washington Post. I forgot how much he was selling it for but it was ridiculous. One page of a 1.50 cent newspaper and his laminate-from-home starter kit.

Did you see any bootleggers that were real good or real bad? What are they bootlegging in your city or town? Let us know.

About the author

Lamar and Ronnie Tyler are the creators of the award-winning blog BlackandMarriedWithKids.com . They also are behind the Amazon.com bestselling DVDs Happily Ever After: A Positive Image of Black Marriage, You Saved Me and Men Ain’t Boys that explores manhood in the African American community. The Tylers are also the proud parents of four children.

http://www.singlemomandmore.com Lisa Maria Carroll

I’m still crying about being a day late and a dollar short. There’s got to be a way that I can “pimp” Obama and make a few dollars.

Let me put my thinking cap on and try to come up with ways I can get my Obama hustle on.

Lisa Maria Carrolls last blog post..How to Find Your Hidden Money
Harriet

We were talking about this on Political Pete’s blog. Even Hennessey created a bottle comemorating (sp?) the 44th president!

i was saying there that if I were Obama and I wasn’t saved, I’d probably be drinking that Hennessey right now, because my man has a LOT of work to do! LOL. Thank God he’s not an alcoholic.
Sasha

One news blog told of bath products being sold on the mall with “The Audacity of Soap” labels!!!
Harriet

stop playing @ sasha! please tell me you’re lying! that is just crazy! i was telling pete that if he hit up dc, to hook me up with some yes-we-can-cranberry flavored kool aid. another person said they would brand obama’s campaign sign on watermelon. just straight tomfoolery. LOL
MissJay

I thought the Pepsi logo looked extremely familiar! LOL

I didn’t go to the inauguration but I have seen all kinds of street vendors selling Obama stuff. I saw this on Thanksgiving at the ASU and Tuskegee football game in Alabama. If that was a lot of people selling just about anything with Obama’s face/name on in I KNOW the inauguration was CRAZY with street vendors selling overpriced stuff.
Marcus

Let me tell you this. IO have never seen so many people hustling. I’m not even going to lie. I was the laminated guy for about 3 days to make a couple extra bucks. I didn’t do the newspaper though, just posters. lol. I mean but think of it this way. This guy has black folks ALREADY making money, just off of who he is. Now that’s level 10 hustling. lol
http://www.mochadad.com Mocha Dad

I had been seeing that Pepsi logo for a few weeks before the inauguration and I always wondered what the heck it was. I quickly realized that it was their attempt to cash in on Obamamania.

Mocha Dads last blog post..Wednesday Wisdom: The Cure to Selfishness
http://politicalmusic.wordpress.com Political Pete

Yeah I mean at one point do they stop! It’s like a free licensing agreement because he is a public figure. lol…I guess I will be ready with my Obama merchandise in 12′ lol.

Political Petes last blog post..Montgomery Alabama Candidates for Mayor
http://www.singlemomandmore.com Lisa Maria Carroll

@Political Pete:

Thanks, I needed that free licensing tip. They’re not going to stop. So, if you can’t beat em, join em.

On a flip note, why are you going to wait til 2012? By then you’ll be at least four years late and more than a few dollars short. Obama is going to be a hot ticket item from this day forward. So you need to jump on that bandwagon now.

Lisa Maria Carrolls last blog post..How to Find Your Hidden Money
http://www.singlemomandmore.com Lisa Maria Carroll

Ty Inc, the maker of Beanie Babies, has already released the Obama Girls dolls – “Marvelous Malia” and “Sweet Sasha.”

Lisa Maria Carrolls last blog post..How to Find Your Hidden Money
Anna

I ‘aint even mad at em. I never get upset with “the hustle”. Less carjacking, crack selling, crap shooting ppl in the streets. LOL. It would be interesting if someone is trying to keep a “talley” on “all things Obama”, just to see how much money is boosting our economy. There are always certain things that ppl will buy (even in a recession).

This post reads: ” Top 5 Obama Hustles During Inauguration”.
After Our First Couple danced the crowd gathered on the dance floor and hubby and I looked at each other and thought they were going to do the “hustle/electric slide” we again looked at each other and laughed and I said Our President won’t be able to do that. I thought this post was about 5 different hustles/electric slide dances created just for Our President that even he could learn/do. LOL.
http://freewaregallery.wordpress.com Freeware Gallery

Great Post!
Pingback: Beanie Baby Company Gets In On The Obama Hustle With Sweet Sasha and Marvelous Malia | Poor Kid: Parenting & Children
KENNETH DAVIS

This is the Obamaman ( the guy in the obama suit ) my real name is Kenneth Davis. Hey look, i wasn’t out there to hustle. I’m just a person that love people. I had people with me as i was skating and one of them said to put down a hat for donations i said ” no, that’s O.K ) And that’s when they put the hat down for me. Although i’m not a rich man i did it because i had the custom made for the parade but lost out in the final cut. I,m also working with P.I.C. the inauguration committee. on renewing America so it was not about money for me but unity which is priceless. kenneydavis@hotmail.com
http://www.blackandmarriedwithkids.com TheDad

@Kenneth /Obama Man- thanks for checking out the site and lending your side of the story. This would have bothered me for years to come. lol. Like I said in the post it looked like you were just there to have fun until my wife told me she saw someone asking for money then that threw me off that they weren’t asking for it in the right way cause you really deserved it with the work you were putting in. lol.

Thanks for providing some entertainment and unity to the masses!
Taj

I thought you did a hell of a job on those skates Kenneth.Hopefully we’ll see you in 4 more years
KENNETH DAVIS

Thanks Taj and God Bless