President Obama Not a Fan of Benetton Ads

President Obama pops up in numerous political ads every day, but the White House is calling out an ad campaign from Benetton as crossing the line.

Obama is shown kissing Chinese leader Hu Jintao and Venezuala's Hugo Chavez in two separate ads. But that isn't the problem.

"The White House has a long-standing policy disapproving of the use of the president's name and likeness for commercial purposes," deputy press secretary Eric Schultz said in a statement reported by Politico.

Although the Benetton ads are intended to promote peace, they are also promoting the clothing store. The White House did not make clear whether it would seek the removal of the ad, as the pope did this week.

When a banner unfurled in Vatican City showed Pope Benedict kissing Egyptian imam Mohamed Ahmed el-Tayeb, the Catholic Church objected to being featured in a commercial campaign and threatened legal action. And so Benetton removed the ad, saying it wasn't intended to offend.