The following is NOT a joke but a real email/press release from Kraft Food’s Grey Poupon team — a fun press release that is (smart) public relations at its best.

In case you’ve been on Mars, amid a recession, two wars, concerns over health care, etc. conservative talk show hosts and some Republicans have been making a big deal over the fact that President Barack Obama dared to put Grey Poupon mustard on his hamburger.

One irony in this “controversy.” Why is it raised at all?

Republicans didn’t cut the mustard in the last election — and they have been “poupon-ing” independent voters for several years.

But no matter, here is the fun email and press release in full (we’ve left out contact information specifics):

Contact:
Grace Leong
Hunter Public Relations
Mary Anne McAndrew
Kraft Foods

PRESIDENT OBAMA URGED TO ISSUE “DIJON-GATE PARDONS” GLENVIEW, Ill./USA — May 8, 2009 —GREY POUPON has issued an open letter to
President Barack Obama urging him to grant “pardons” to all Americans who have ever been criticized for their love of Dijon mustard.

“We believe that all Americans should have the option to exercise their freedom of taste,” said Christie Crouch, brand manager for GREY POUPON. “When we learned that President Obama was criticized for ordering a hamburger with Dijon mustard — now known as ‘Dijon-gate’ — we decided to take a stand by urging the President to issue ‘Pardon Me For Loving Dijon’ proclamations in support of condiment lovers everywhere.”

A copy of the letter appears below and can be viewed at www.greypouponpardon.com, where classic GREY POUPON “Pardon Me” television commercials can also be seen.

May 8, 2009
The Honorable Barack H. Obama
President of the United States
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20006
Dear Mr. President:

We applaud you, Mr. President, for exercising your freedom of taste when recently ordering a burger with Dijon mustard. We’re always happy to see people use Dijon mustard to add flair and flavor to their favorite foods. The right to choose condiments freely is quintessentially American and embodies the spirit of our democracy.

So we urge you to respond to “Dijon-gate” by issuing a “pardon” to any American who has ever been criticized for putting a liberal spread of Dijon mustard on a burger or a conservative dollop on a ham & cheese sandwich. These “Pardon Me for Loving Dijon” proclamations will empower the millions of Dijon mustard-loving Americans to ask for their favorite condiment with pride.

Respectfully yours,
The GREY POUPON Team
www.greypoupon.com

About Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods (www.kraftfoodscompany.com) makes today delicious in 150 countries around the globe. Our 100,000 employees work tirelessly to make delicious foods consumers can feel good about. From American brand icons like Kraft cheeses, dinners and dressings, Maxwell House coffees and Oscar Mayer meats, to global powerhouse brands like Oreo and LU biscuits, Philadelphia cream cheeses, Jacobs and Carte Noire coffees, Tang powdered beverages and Milka, Côte d’Or, Lacta and Toblerone chocolates, our brands deliver millions of smiles every day. Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) is the world’s second largest food company with annual revenues of $42 billion. The company is a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Standard & Poor’s 500, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and the Ethibel Sustainability Index.

We’ve run The Quote of the Day. This is the (most masterful) press release of the day.