TOO FUNNY!!! OCEANIC BANK, MOUKA FOAM AND OTHERS MILK THE "OBAMA COW" A MUST READ!

Hmm can we say interesting? Oceanic bank makes good use of the word CHANGE and Mouka foam... well read on!

Lagos, Nigeria - While Americans revel in the festivities surrounding the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama in far away Washington DC on Tuesday, Nigerian firms were cashing in on the inauguration to advertise their products.

The inauguration of Obama as the 44th President of the United States has generated widespread interest here, with most newspapers Tuesday devoting several pages to the ceremony.

The fairy tale story of Obama, born to a Kenya father and a white American mother, has made the President-elect a brand to associate with in these parts, and across the world.

That fact is not lost on Nigerian companies, many of which placed full page adverts in local newspapers Tuesday to be part of the inauguration train, while also hoping the Obama brand name will rub off on theirs.

Banks, aviation firms and manufacturers are among those milking what an analysts tagged the 'Obama cow'.

``Great Mattress, Great Dreams'' was the catchphrase in a full-page advert placed by mattress maker 'Mouka' in several papers on Tuesday.

In the advert, a sleeping but surprisingly smiling Obama was esconced in what seems a fluffy mattress made by Mouka, as he dreamt about the White House.

''Congratulations to President Barack Obama, the 44th and first African American President of America'' the advert read.

''With nothing but a funny name and an awesome dream, you've shown the world that if we can dream it, YES WE CAN achieve it,'' it said.

Also milking the cow is 'Oceanic', one of Nigeria's foremost banks.

''Today is a good day. CHANGE is here. 20th January, 2009,'' the bank wrote in its advert, splashed with the a photograph of Obama making a speech.

Cable tv operator 'Multichoice' also aligned its DSTV brand with the inauguration, with a full page newspaper advert that reads: ''JANUARY 20th: Obama's date with history - Only on DSTV!''

A photograph of a smiling Obama was also splashed on the page.

DAARSAT, which has just launched a cable TV, and Bristow Helicopters, which is announcing a job vacancy, used the picture of the President-elect in their advertisements Tuesday.

''Nothing succeeds like success. If the man (Obama) had lost the election, I doubt if he would have featured in those adverts!'' said Ayo Ojo, a local journalist.