• USA Today , Monday, November 10, 2008 10:45 AM

I came late to Bruce Horovitz' story about Barack and Michelle Obama's favorite brands, but I'm glad I did. The comments by readers are just as fascinating. Advocates from both sides of the political divide riff off the first-family-elect's brand choices to continue the debate about what Obama represents to America. Or, more to the point, what both Obama and brands mean to them.

One sees a certain elitism in the Obamas' choice of $24 boxes of Fran's Chocolates, an artisan brand from Seattle, as their favorite sweet, but what could be more grounded than Barack's choice of music: Stevie Wonder and Bruce Springsteen?

Other Obama favorites include Hart Schaffner Marx suits for Barack and J Crew dresses for Michelle, Black Forest Berry Honest Tea, Planters Trail Mix, a Ford Escape hybrid SUV and the sport of basketball. To quit smoking, Obama favors Nicorette, but a reader puts in a plug for Chantix.

Most marketers contacted say they won't publicly tout the Obama connection, but marketing psychologist Renee White Fraser predicts many will try to create online chatter so that it appears consumer interest is spontaneous.

Says one reader: "Only the lemmings will follow what he likes or any other President and celebrity." Ah, but there are a lot of lemmings dogpaddling in the channels of marketing which are, as we shall read below, getting choppier by the minute.

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