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Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

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Accountability, motherfuckers.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

T R E 4 5 O N

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Infrastructure week. at last.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

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That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

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if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

You are here: Home / New Frontiers in Direct Mail

New Frontiers in Direct Mail

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Carl Paladino sent 200,000 garbage-scented direct mail pieces to remind voters that “something STINKS in Albany”.

Of course, Paladino’s campaign was not content with just sending the message that Albany stinks. The flier is actually scented with the odor of “landfill,” according to a Paladino spokesman, who helpfully notes the smell will get worse the longer it is exposed.

A teatard with money is an awesome thing to behold.

Reader Interactions

26Comments

  2. 2.

    SRW1

    … the smell will get worse the longer it is exposed.

    So, that the recipients will learn to really love him with time?

  4. 4.

    Ash Can

    What a stroke of marketing genius. What kind of moronic asshole says “vote for me” by sending the potential supporter a stink bomb?

  6. 6.

    HRA

    There ought to be a law against sending this through the mail and also against health standards/laws.

    This is so disgusting. I can barely write how disgusted I am over him and his idiot supporters.

  8. 8.

    The Republic of Stupidity

    Amazing…

    I’m speechless… I am without speech…

    ***a moment of silence…***

    There… I’ve recovered…

    And does this mean that if Carl decides his opponent is full of shite, he’ll be sending out fliers that…

    Of course, if Carl opts to use simple horse manure for that, at least he’ll know where to get it…

    This is going to be…

    Teh Best Election Cycle Evah!™

  9. 9.

    El Cid

    Don’t forget this innovation from Christine O’Donnell in ’08:

    As the campaign entered the summer season, staff was instructed to compile a 10-page document examining how the distribution of tens of thousands of two-ounce suntan lotion packets could shake up the race, according to several members of O’Donnell’s 2008 team.
    __
    O’Donnell’s idea: To affix a clever slogan to packets that read: “Don’t Get Burned By Higher Taxes. Vote Christine O’Donnell 2008″ and distribute them at local parades…
    __
    “It was an irresponsible idea,” said David Keegan, who served as O’Donnell’s financial officer. “And half the people in the street thought she was throwing condoms out of the truck.”

  10. 10.

    Chad N Freude

    Read the comment by “Grace Thu Sep 16, 2010 06:02 pm PDT” following the linked article. It starts with

    Cuomo is just another facist far left marxist communist bleeding heart liberal slimey democrat trying to get elected so he can continue to rob the american people of their freedon guaranteed under the constitution…

    and goes downhill from there, in grammar and spelling as well as content.

    Can the Paladino campaign really believe that recipients of their mailer will be favorably influenced by this? The mind boggles.

  11. 11.

    PurpleGirl

    Has nothing to do with being a “tea bagger”. Has everything to do with being an a””hole with money. He follows in the footsteps of Tom Golisano — another businessman who thought to become governor without apparently participating in electoral politics before. It seems many businessmen think they know how to run things and get swell heads. (Bloomberg just picked the right time and had really enough money to make the dream happen.)

  12. 12.

    PurpleGirl

    Can’t seem to edit comments….

    Also, Too, Paladino is not an outsider. He/his company makes roughly 5 million a year from renting to NYS agencies in the Buffalo and surrounding markets. And real estate is the big game anywhere in NYS.

  13. 13.

    Citizen_X

    Awesome. Because nothing is guaranteed to make John and Jane Q. Citizen into diehard supporters faster than making their homes smell like garbage.

    You’ve heard of epistemic closure? Well, this is what it smells like.

  16. 16.

    beltane

    Be grateful he’s not sending anthrax through the mail.

    Mailing people their own little piece of the Fresh Kills landfill doesn’t sound like a great way to win over hearts and minds, but what do I know.

  19. 19.

    Shalimar

    Not that surprising. If there is one thing Paladino is known for, it is creative ways to send his fellow teabaggers sick shit that they claim to be offended by when it is done by anyone else.

  20. 20.

    Mark S.

    That is the stupidest campaign stunt I ever heard of.

    And actually, I like the idea of throwing condoms at potential voters. I would put on them: “Protect yourself from intrusive government.”

  22. 22.

    Lihtox

    I’m wondering what the flyer looks like. Because face it, most people aren’t going to bother to read it, they’ll just glance at it, get a whiff, and toss it out. So there are three possibilities:

    1) If Paladino’s name is in large letters on the front, then people will associate his name with the smell of garbage. This would be the stupidest marketing ploy in the history of politics.

    2) If Cuomo’s name is in large letters, then people will associate Cuomo’s name with the smell of garbage, and this might be sort of clever. Yes, people who pay attention will find out that this was Paladino’s idea and be pissed at him, but the people who don’t pay attention will unconsciously link the smell with Cuomo’s name.

    3) If the flyer says something like “Albany” or “big government” or even “Democrats”, I don’t think it will have as big an effect, because the voters already have opinions on those topics, and it’s less likely to be dislodged by some random smell.

    Smell is a powerful path to the brain, and if just seeing a candidate’s name posted around town is enough to sway some voters, smell might work even better. Now, if only we could see a *positive* campaign, with candidates sending out samples of fresh bread or flowers. :)

  25. 25.

    Thoughtcrime

    @jayboat:

    I would never diss on Mr. Waters, and of course know he’s not a Republican. Have gone to a couple of his speaking events, where I met him and got him to autograph my copy of “Crackpot”.

    Just giving an obvious nod to “Odorama”, which was a fun gimmick with the movie “Polyester”, which I saw at the UC Theatre way back when. Also used to have the Laserdisc of Polyster, complete with the Odorama card.

    And, btw, the UC theater used to always play this before their daily double-features:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnpofBtijF8

  26. 26.

    John Bird

    What an exceptional piece of marketing: a mailer with an absolutely new way to make you hate the person who sent it.

    I doubted we could advance our technology in this sector any farther at a reasonable cost, but if you can put a man on the moon, right? Pardon me. There’s something in my eye.

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