Thing is, footer is a presentational concept. Which is why the <footer> tag is largely ignored by non-visual UA's. No joke, it does nothing.

In that example all three of those were subsections of the page. Non-visual ua's will treat them as such, they are all siblings to each-other, so they're all H2.

Since the footer tag does dick and does not a blasted thing to the document structure, are ANY of those headings marking the start of subsections of what you'd put H1 on?

Write a page with the H1 as you'd say with a footer like that. Now open up a document outline in either the web developer toolbar or the HTML validation service.

Does that make it any clearer why your H1 choice -- that you're parroting from dirtbag organziations out to peddle garbage to the gullibe -- is in fact gibberish and pissing on accessibility?