Prank ad posted on craigslist
Wednesday, Aug 20, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* A help-wanted ad on the Chambana craigslist promotes a $22 an hour “Copywriter/Proofer for Statewide Political Campaign (Champaign)”…
Statewide political campaign in desperate need of a copywriter and proofer. The candidate loves to see himself on Facebook and Twitter, but to date, we’ve made way too many mistakes with typos and bad photos.
Key Responsibilities include: proofing the videos that the campaign makes to make sure we aren’t saying something false in them, editing and writing Facebook status updates and email blasts, watching the campaign posts on blog comment sections to make sure they don’t post stupid things and even holding up a ‘meet the candidate sign’ so he doesn’t have to.
Dress code: Need to be able to wear a suit. Even to places you shouldn’t.
We’d prefer someone who has worked with celebrities or perhaps infants. Either way, someone who is willing to tolerate vanity and a ‘pay attention to me!’ type of attitude from the boss.
If you have a library of tall/height puns, all the better.
Must be able to spell the words “Treasurer” and “Treasurer’s Office” properly.
More than a little insidery, but still somewhat amusing. Plus, I’ve never seen that tactic used before.
…Adding… The Tom Cross campaign says it’s not from them and not authorized by them.
- Amateur Hour - Wednesday, Aug 20, 14 @ 1:25 pm:
Wait, how sure are we this is a prank?
- Curious - Wednesday, Aug 20, 14 @ 1:25 pm:
This is pretty stupid. I hope whoever came up with this idea is also working on other things, like how to turnout Cross voters. The snark out of Team Cross is becoming rather grating - they need to get over how clever they are.
- Frankie L - Wednesday, Aug 20, 14 @ 1:32 pm:
I never thought I would say this but Frerichs is getting so thoroughly owned in every aspect that I am starting to feel what I think to be just the slightest bit of sympathy for him or it might just be the feeling you get when you laugh too hard and pull a muscle.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Aug 20, 14 @ 1:32 pm:
Does it have medical? Dental? How about mileage? Cell phone?
Will it cover golf if I get invited to a Frerichs golf outing?
Please email “AWillyWord Consulting”
- 47th Ward - Wednesday, Aug 20, 14 @ 1:35 pm:
Very funny. I’d nominate this for the Best of Craigslist if I knew how. Well done.
http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/all/
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Aug 20, 14 @ 1:35 pm:
@FakeMikeFrerichs - well, we thought it couldn’t hurt, k? #SocializingForSocialMediaHelp
- OneMan - Wednesday, Aug 20, 14 @ 1:40 pm:
Actually kind of funny….
- LincolnLounger - Wednesday, Aug 20, 14 @ 1:41 pm:
I think it’s hilarious.
- Formerly Known As... - Wednesday, Aug 20, 14 @ 1:42 pm:
If this were a large newspaper ad designed to ridicule your opponent, I would say “shame on you”.
The fact this is an inside-baseball type posting anyone could have put up on the Chambana Craigslist offshoot in a moment of frustration makes me say “hilarious”.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Aug 20, 14 @ 1:44 pm:
Frerichs is, by far, the most annoying of the Statewides running this cycle.
“This is pretty hilarious to those who follow campaigns closely. I hope whoever came up with this idea is also working on other things to remind us how funny this run for the Big Table is, and how it’s ‘not ready for Prime Time’. The snark out of Team Cross is more than delicious, given the Dopiness that the Frerichs Crew continues to back-peddle on. Frerichs’ Crew needs to get over how Dopey they are being.”
Better
- Formerly Known As... - Wednesday, Aug 20, 14 @ 1:47 pm:
For all we know, one of Frerichs’ own staff whipped this up one day as the product of a rant.
It hits a little too close to home during that campaign’s endless series of self-inflicted errors.
- Frankie L - Wednesday, Aug 20, 14 @ 1:50 pm:
It could be an honest ad from Frerichs, who knows. They clearly need someone to proofread and Craigs is probably a good place to get some C-U English majors who need part time work.
- Big Debbie - Wednesday, Aug 20, 14 @ 1:53 pm:
The more time that Team Cross wastes blogging about typos on Facebook and Twitter - and doing silly things like this Craigslist ad - the better for Frerichs. Anyone else starting to get the impression that this race is going to be a major “meep meep” ending?
Mike has a million in the bank and no spending yet and is spending his time now obviously working really hard to meet voters - especially in the battleground of suburban Cook. At the same time, Cross can’t even attend his own statewide attack tours, presumably because a time opened up on the links of the White Eagle Country Club. His fundraising is lackluster and still trails Frerichs badly. And his team spends most of their time scouring tweets that Mike’s interns write for typos and then creating five-year-old memes.
So who’s your money on? the guy that dumped his entire opposition research file in a press release or the guy that has a huge money advantage and is waiting until voters actually tune into this down-ballot race?
Me thinks, come election day, Team Cross might be regretting the victory lap that they prematurely started in June. I could be wrong, maybe fake craigslist ads and memes about typos is the future of winning elections.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Aug 20, 14 @ 1:57 pm:
Big Debbie, I agree that Frerichs has a $ advantage. But a million bucks doesn’t go very far these days, particularly when each gubernatorial candidate could spend well over $30 million, plus the congressionals. Network TV is gonna be crowded and a million barely buys a week on Chicago broadcast.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Aug 20, 14 @ 2:04 pm:
===The more time that Team Cross wastes blogging about typos on Facebook and Twitter - ===
It was an Ad. And deliciously ironic and true!
===So who’s your money on?===
The most annoying candidate running statewide this cycle, who tweets and facebooks more than proofreads his own rollout video…lol.
Mike Frerichs is not ready. This Dopey run, including a video, he was in, and approved, that had a focal point of it be so blatantly false, the question remains, “Does Frerichs even know what he’s voting on, or worse, does Frerichs even know his own record?”
===Me thinks,===
Unless your mocking Sneed, with a sweet Ed Burke, Anne Burke, Jay Doherty reference, using “Me thinks” is an overplayed meme to seem cool…in 1986.
- joan - Wednesday, Aug 20, 14 @ 2:05 pm:
Big Debbie-
After taking down your blog for unspecified reasons, weren’t you the one who got on twitter saying Rodney Davis fired his entire field team (he didn’t) and screamed bloody murder when someone has an issue with you turning a public school registration day into a campaign rally for Ann Callis? And then you doubled down when the police told you to stop accosting people during the Taste of CU which again you turned into a screechfest on how the GOP uses police to stop voter registration (looking past the mayor being a Democrat who I think you also do work for)?
It ain’t like you have credibility here.
- Lunchbox - Wednesday, Aug 20, 14 @ 2:08 pm:
I responded to the ad. I’ll report back on what I hear…
- cal city crew - Wednesday, Aug 20, 14 @ 2:33 pm:
While the Frerichs campaign has had a string of blunders as of late, it’s starting to feel like this blog is going out of its way to find ways to go after Mike. I’m obviously a biased Democrat, but hey - it doesn’t hurt that Mike’s opponent and his team are close with this blog. Good news is, it’s all inside baseball (and running in those types of news outlets), and most voters don’t even know they are supposed to vote for a State Treasurer.
Alas, funny CL posting - I’ve seen those “Meet Mike” signs. I like’em!
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Aug 20, 14 @ 2:37 pm:
===Mike’s opponent and his team are close with this blog.===
You should hit the “search” key on Two-Putt and report back, lol
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Aug 20, 14 @ 2:44 pm:
–Network TV is gonna be crowded and a million barely buys a week on Chicago broadcast.–
Network rates will be through the roof. I wonder if any of the campaigns were smart enough to lock in targeted cable months ago?
- LincolnLounger - Wednesday, Aug 20, 14 @ 2:46 pm:
===Mike’s opponent and his team are close with this blog.===
I don’t even know what to say.
The amount of shots Cross has taken on here (by many in his own party) has been big, cal city. Welcome to the site, however.
The Big Debbie outrage took longer than I expected.
- Easy - Wednesday, Aug 20, 14 @ 3:05 pm:
Yep. Oswego Willy has been a longtime tanker for Cross, uh-huh..sure. Some on Cross’ staff still tremble before hitting the “comment” link to see what he’s written.
- cal city crew - Wednesday, Aug 20, 14 @ 3:21 pm:
I appreciate the prompt responses!
Two-putt - yes, have seen that in person and on the blog.
And fair points that Cross have taken his fair share of shots on here. My initial opinion that Mike has been in the cross-hairs is purely anecdotal and non-scientific - I’m certainly not keeping a count!
Oh, and thanks for the welcome. I post very sporadically, and typically don’t engage in back and forth
I question my own mental state for even taking the time to engage in the message board today!
- Big Debbie - Wednesday, Aug 20, 14 @ 3:22 pm:
@RM: it is true that it will be hard to break through the cluster but the only way to do that is with as much money as possible, and Frerichs has the lead in that department. But maybe this new Craigslist Mock-u-Ads strategy is going to prove me wrong and show that all you need to cut through the clutter is an email address. Time will tell.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Aug 20, 14 @ 3:44 pm:
- Big Debbie -,
It seems to be a mock Ad for inside baseball types.
It’s making a satirical point, both in the placement and the verbiage.
To that, it hits close because it is pretty spot on to the failures. You run statewide when you know, without question, you and your Crew can handle the rigors and the expectations of others. Mike Frerichs is failing, miserably, in both.
What makes this failing worse is that it’s self-inflicted, and at times pompous and simplistic in the same breath; “I’m tall!”
Frerichs is who he is, and the white spotlight is showing the warts and all, and the Crew running this isn’t helping. Period.
Throw in the “annoying”; Facebook and Twitter, ala Rutherford-style, horrible optics.
It is.
(h/t to - Easy -, you are far too kind.)
- Lance - Wednesday, Aug 20, 14 @ 4:04 pm:
omg, this is funny… When you can’t properly spell the name of the office your running for on your social media sites, I dont care who is doing it, it’s embarrassing… then again, his entire campaign has been an embarrassment.
- A. Nonymous - Wednesday, Aug 20, 14 @ 10:22 pm:
May not have been from Cross’ “campaign” but it has the hallmarks of his team’s silly online antics written all over it.
Recall that this is the same batch of Cross campaign guys that sockpuppets liberal blogs …. from HGOP IP addresses.
- VanillaMan - Thursday, Aug 21, 14 @ 8:16 am:
It is mean and disrespectful.
It doesn’t belong in a campaign.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Aug 21, 14 @ 8:27 am:
===It is mean and disrespectful.
It doesn’t belong in a campaign.===
“Signed,
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams’ campaigns”
- Lance - Thursday, Aug 21, 14 @ 12:17 pm:
Do a Google news search of Mike frerichs campaign… Results are interesting