For anti-obesity push, Michelle Obama woos business, puts her popularity to work

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The country has been seeing a lot of Michelle Obama, and she seems to be having the time of her life.

She already a fixture on everything from magazine covers to popular children’s television shows (“She’s meeting people where they are — young people watch Nickelodeon, so she wants to be on Nickelodeon,” says longtime friend and White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett) — and even the Academy Awards.  Her 67 percent approval rating according to a mid-January Pew Research poll is considerably higher than the president’s. And Gallup ranks her the second most admired woman in America, behind only former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Mrs. Obama has her detractors, to be sure, who attack everything from her fashion choices to her bangs, to her focus on getting kids to put down the fried food, but little seems to have daunted the Chicago native, who says her mother taught her and her brothers that “you’d better do what you want to do and what you think is right, and have that be your guiding compass in your life” — rather than your “haters.”

“I’ve now known the first lady for 22 years,” Jarrett said. “And part of what has lifted her popularity not just as first lady, but throughout her life, was this sense of authenticity, this sense that if she takes on an issue it’s something she cares passionately about, and she throws herself completely into it, with the intent of making a difference.”

That energy was on display as the first lady barnstormed the country recently, promoting her “Let’s Move! Active Schools” initiative, which focuses on healthy eating and fitness goals that the White House hopes will be adopted by 50,000 U.S. schools. She danced and exercised with 6,000 school kids and a spate of sports celebrities inside Chicago’s McCormick Center after delivering a heartfelt speech about growing up on the south side; she and Food Network star Rachel Ray judged a “cafeteria cook-off” in Clinton, Mississippi that pitted two school lunch ladies, paired with celebrity chefs, in a healthy lunch cooking contest that will be televised on Ray’s cable show; and toured a Springfield, Missouri Wal-Mart Pantry supermarket with a group of local parents and a pair of company executives.

Last week, she held her first Google+ hangout, even getting participating third graders to do what could be considered be her signature dance move: the Dougie, which Mrs. Obama also used to close out her “mom dancing” routine with NBC late night host Jimmy Fallon — which has since become a Youtube hit.

It’s part fun — Michelle Obama knows how to let her much-discussed hair down, particularly when surrounded by kids. But the First Lady’s moves are also about business. She has amassed an impressive list of corporate partners for her “Let’s Move” initiatives including Wal-Mart, Walgreens, Darden’s Restaurants, and Nike, which put up $50 million to support fitness programs including “Let’s Move! Active Schools,” which will be administered outside the White House.

Good health, good P.R., and good business

For the companies, it’s good P.R. and good business. Healthy food products are selling well enough in the U.S. that even fast food retailers are jumping on the bandwagon. And it doesn’t hurt for companies like Wal-Mart, which has had to defend itself against accusations of unfair labor practices and below-average wages, to associate themselves with the positive image of the first lady.

Wal-Mart executive vice president of corporate affairs Leslie Dach deflected the question of whether associating with Mrs. Obama might take the sting off criticism of the company, saying the giant retailer, which serves some 200 million customers a week nationwide, was simply responding to their customers’ demands for healthy foods they could afford.

“I think when you’re a business that’s our size and scale you begin to understand that just like the first lady said, you can do these things, make a difference on the issues your customers tell you they want you to make a difference on, and still  make your business stronger,” Dach said on the day Mrs. Obama toured the Springfield store. “So why not?”

“How this White House handles big business is really an expression of how the East Wing (the first lady) and The West Wing (the president) consider the nature of these relationships,” said Corey Ealons, a former White House Director of African-American Media. “Mrs. Obama’s team considers these relationships from the perspective of her brand image and ability to promote the issues she cares most about, mostly in the relatively safe areas of health and fitness. And as you said, being associated with the First Lady and her high approval ratings is a definite win for those companies.”

Ivory Johnson, founder of Delancey Wealth Management in Washington, D.C., agrees, saying of Mrs. Obama that she is “extremely popular,” and noting that except for those who are opposed to the Obamas on ideological grounds, “nutrition and exercise is a good message to sell.”