Marketing Magic: Maytag's 'No Smear Campaign'

Maytag is getting a little "meta" with its newest marketing campaign to promote its suite of smear- and fingerprint-resistant stainless steel appliances.

The "No Smear Campaign" is offering a Chrome plug-in that helps hide political smears online during the intensifying election cycle.

"Maytag prides itself on being a dependable American brand," says Brendan Bosch, Maytag senior brand manager. "We want Americans to be educated about the election, without being brought down and annoyed by negative smears. What better way for Maytag to lend our century-old dependability than helping rid Americans of smears online and in the kitchen?"

Maytag pointed to a recent survey it completed, which found that Americans are most annoyed by political smears on social media: half of those surveyed were angered or annoyed by this type of content, and 73% have unfollowed, blocked or hidden someone's posts as a result.

The plug-in will replace negative political content with something decidedly more upbeat.

Actress and comedian Abby Elliott will also help raise awareness for the plug-in and promote positivity during the election season.

"While this election has provided some entertaining and comedic moments, we all get a little tired when surrounded by too much negativity," says Elliott. "That's why I was excited to join with Maytag to bring a little more lighthearted and 'clean' conversation to the election."

Also assisting the effort was University of Michigan professor and political scientist Dr. Arthur Lupia, who helped with the back-end development of the plug-in to help minimize candidate or party preference.

Additionally, the landing page for the plug-in also leads to all official candidate pages to assist users who wish to educate themselves on their options.