#FeelTheArson

From the Tuesday Morning Jolt:

Bernie and His Giant Match Are Coming For You, America

It’s always good to have a little wariness about new technology, particularly in the arena of social media. Sometimes you’re looking at the next Facebook or Twitter; sometimes you’re looking at the next Google Plus or MySpace. This year, it’s Snapchat:

With a week to go before the Iowa caucuses, presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is pulling out all the Snaps.

The Democratic upstart—who is in a tight battle with Hillary Clinton in several of the early primaries, according to several recent polls—on Sunday kicked off a nine-day Snapchat ad campaign specifically targeted at voters in Iowa.

On Jan. 24, Mr. Sanders’ campaign began running the first of nine planned Snapchat geofilter ads. These ads are visual images people can add to their Snapchat videos only when they are present in specific locations.

Here’s an example of one of those Snapchat ads:

Hey… what is the little Bernie Sanders caricature holding behind his back? Is that a ruler? A paddle? Are we going to “feel the bern” in our knuckles or – yeesh — somewhere else? Why did he open his ad with Simon and Garfunkel’s “America,” with the opening lyric “let us be lovers”? Dear God, he wants to act out that twisted sexual-fantasy op-ed! It’s Fifty Shades of Socialist Red! 

Oh, wait, wait! My mistake; apparently it’s just a giant match. He’s not coming to paddle us; he’s merely an arsonist. Relax.