Corporate Avatars?

When I first read this piece I was confused. Is a visual representation of a person OK to represent a company? I had read Byron Reeves: Media Equation .... which seemed to say that people are more likely to respond honestly to avatars than they are to real people. Is this also the case with the representation of enterprises in an avatar logo? Especially if we want to have a conversation with that company? The post makes some interesting points about that. Thoughts?