Drink maker pulls Reardons’ online video endorsement
Published 11:00 pm Thursday, September 24, 2009
EVERETT — The maker of an energy drink that contains seaweed has pulled Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon’s video testimonial about its product from YouTube.
The sales manager for Bellevue-based Sea2o said he removed the video because he felt the issue was getting political.
“We’re not a political company and we didn’t want to see anything negative come out of it,” Greg Cunningham said Thursday. “I came to the decision last night and took it off YouTube today.”
The 1-minute, 42-second video taped at an executive office conference room was posted in June and appeared to have only 38 hits early Tuesday. In it, Reardon talked about how the drink helped him manage a daily workout routine and a demanding job.
The number of views shot up in the hundreds after news reports on Wednesday. Cunningham said TV reports that night influenced his decision to take down the clip.
Reardon said he was not paid to do the taping and was merely giving a testimonial about a local product he believes in.
Reardon spokesman Christopher Schwarzen said Thursday the executive’s office saw the news coverage as favorable and that it did not change the executive’s position about doing the video. Sea2o was one of several Washington state businesses that Reardon hosted during a business summit in Lynnwood in May.
