This Is a Special Keepsake Inauguration Column

THE ardor among marketers for Barack Obama is intensifying with the approach of Inauguration Day, when, it seems, they intend to name him the nation’s new consumer in chief.

Mr. Obama’s election set off a boom in merchandise, official or otherwise, that has come to be called Obamabilia. Among the myriad offerings are coins, plaques, plates, clothing, magazines, newspapers, books, posters, DVDs, jewelry, dolls, greeting cards and jigsaw puzzles.

By some estimates, hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Obama treasures, trinkets and tchotchkes have been sold since Election Day.

As Mr. Obama prepares to be sworn in on Tuesday as the 44th president, the hoopla is reaching a higher level with a round of products and advertisements pegged to the inauguration.

The new items include bottles of Hennessy Cognac, bearing labels that read “44”; commemorative issues of publications like The New Yorker, Newsweek, USA Today and The Washington Post; and T-shirts from the Presidential Inaugural Committee that urge “Be the change.”

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Also arriving is a spate of promotions related to Inauguration Day, some in Washington and some elsewhere around the country. For instance, visitors to Washington will see billboards congratulating Mr. Obama from Sheik Khalid bin Saqr al-Qasimi, the exiled deputy ruler and crown prince of Ras al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates.

And Quaker Oatmeal will host house parties on Tuesday morning in 11 cities — Washington included — where women who write so-called mommy blogs will serve breakfast to friends and other guests before they watch coverage of the ceremonies.

The intent is “to capture the excitement and optimism of the moment,” said Shelley Haus, director for the Quaker breakfast portfolio at the Quaker Oat Company in Chicago, part of PepsiCo, “and to spark on this feeling of inspiration.”

To ameliorate any feeling that Quaker is trying to commercialize a noncommercial event, the company will use the house parties to raise awareness for a fund-raising campaign that began this week (startwithsubstance.com). The campaign benefits the organization Share Our Strength to help feed hungry children.

Besides, Ms. Haus said, “everyone loves Quaker Oats, whether Republicans or Democrats.”

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Another PepsiCo division, Pepsi-Cola North America Beverages, is incorporating the inauguration into a campaign for its flagship brand, Pepsi-Cola, which started on New Year’s Eve and carries the theme “Refresh everything.” Visitors to a Web site (refresheverything.com) are invited to leave messages or video clips for Mr. Obama, a k a “the man who is about to refresh America.”

In Washington, Pepsi-Cola will sponsor the inaugural ball of the Creative Coalition, an arts and entertainment advocacy organization, as well as a symposium at Howard University, titled “Refresh the World,” that is to feature participants like Spike Lee, Queen Latifah and the Rev. Al Sharpton.

“Without commenting specifically on the president-elect, it is a cultural moment for everybody,” said Ralph Santana, vice president for colas at Pepsi-Cola North America Beverages in Purchase, N.Y., “and I do think it transcends politics.”

The event will be marked with Pepsi-Cola commercials on coverage of the inauguration on networks like CNN and MSNBC, Mr. Santana said, where the brand is rarely advertised. There will also be ads in newspapers, he said, and on billboards and posters at sites in Washington like Union Station.

Pepsi-Cola will be sharing the station with Ikea, which will promote its two stores in the Washington area by recreating the Oval Office, inside Union Station, with samples of its budget home furnishings. Ikea is also sponsoring a special Web site (embracechange09

.com) and sending a presidential-style limousine around town with Ikea furniture and boxes strapped to the roof in a cross between “Hail to the Chief” and “The Beverly Hillbillies.”

“I grew up in Washington, and this is like the Super Bowl for D.C.,” said Peter Nicholson, partner and chief creative officer at Deutsch in New York, the Interpublic Group agency that creates campaigns for Ikea North America.

The promotion is presented “in the language of politics that Washingtonians understand,” Mr. Nicholson said, centering on “starting over, embracing change at home, being fiscally responsible.”

Okay this is taking Obamamania too far.  This is an Obamanation!

for those who can not read the fine print:
In Honor of the 44th President, Hennessy will make a donation to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund for every Limited Edition Bottle Purchased.  Each One is a Unique and Individually Numbered Piece of History.