Big Papi's selfie with Obama was marketing ploy

WASHINGTON, April 3 (UPI) -- Red Sox player David Ortiz's viral selfie with U.S. President Barack Obama was a marketing ploy by Samsung.

The selfie was taken with a Samsung phone of Obama holding up his new "Obama 44" Red Sox jersey. Ortiz has a contract with Samsung, and the selfie was part of the marketing.

Samsung shared its delight with the presidential snapshot in a statement: "We were thrilled to see the special, historic moment David Ortiz captured with his Galaxy Note 3 during his White House visit. It was an honor to help him capture such an incredible and genuine moment of joy and excitement."

This isn't the first time Samsung has pulled this stunt. The star-studded selfie that broke Twitter during the Oscars was also a Samsung marketing ploy. It also spurred disappointment when people found out that the viral selfie was a corporate marketing plug. The phone company has taught people to trust no selfie.

There is a sense of irony to this, because when Obama appeared on Ellen DeGeneres' show, he called the Oscar selfie a "cheap stunt."

[HuffPost Live]