Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama , wife of the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, and is the first African-American First Lady of the United States. As a high-profile African-American woman in a stable marriage, she is a positive role model who influences the view the world has of African-Americans.
Prof David Yermack of New York University’s Stern School of Business calculated that Mrs Obama wore clothes and accessories made by 29 publicly traded companies during some occasions and the upside to these stocks, such as J.Crew, GAP, Dillard’s and DSW averaged at $14 million per appearance. That’s more than any model or superstar would have ever managed. ”The first lady’s influence may be tied to the fact that consumers know she’s not paid to wear what she does, whereas they may subconsciously discount models’ endorsements as inherently corrupt,” Mr Yermack wrote in an October issue of the Harvard Business Review that published his findings in an article titled The Michelle Obama Effect.
While the brands chosen by the first lady collectively gained 2.3% in value during the period, a competitive sample of the brands that were not patronised by her, lost 0.4% in value during the period.
She has been compared to Jacqueline Kennedy due to her sense of style, and also to Barbara Bush for her discipline and decorum. The media have been criticized for focusing more on the first lady’s fashion sense than her serious contributions.
