By Dina Fine Maron

As change comes to Washington, the corporate world is directly tapping into the Obama lexicon.

Ikea, the Swedish furniture company, is running ads in the D.C. Metro, spouting familiar rhetoric such as “Embrace change,” and “The time for domestic reform is now,” in the hopes of driving business to their two local stores. Ikea even went so far as to create a completely Ikea-furnished mock oval office in one of the city’s train stations last week.

Pepsi, too, launched a “Refresh Everything” campaign, even adapting Obama’s signature “O” symbol into the newest Pepsi swoosh. The idea behind Pepsi’s new message is that this is the time for change--spiffying up their image, and sponsoring talks on education, revitalizing hip-hop, black America, and, yes, their cool refreshment.

The “Yes We Can” motto has been applied to more abstract ideas as well--like wind energy. The American Wind Energy Association billboards around Washington question if we can “create jobs out of thin air” and then answer their own rhetorical question: “YES, with wind energy WE CAN.”

But the slogans and symbols aren’t the only parts of Obama’s campaign to be appropriated by advertisers. His ability to mobilize voters and reach them through the Internet was a powerful tool during his campaign. That trial run at voter inclusion may have led the way for Pepsi and Ikea’s campaigns to get voters involved … as consumers. On Ikea’s Web site you can design your own oval office and then even e-mail it to the president. And Pepsi’s site suggests you think about what you would like to ask our new president--and then upload that video. As I munch on my “Yes Pecan!” Ben and Jerry’s ice cream (the unofficial Obama flavor), I find myself wondering: Is this all change you can believe in?