BENTON HARBOR, Mich., Aug. 25, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The upcoming election has been a widely buzzed about conversation – both offline and online. However, sometimes political fodder can take a turn for the worse and friendly education can become a bit nasty. In fact, a recent survey from Maytag found that political smears are considered the most annoying topic on social media with half of Americans surveyed being angered or annoyed by this type of content¹. In fact, 73 percent of respondents admitted to having unfollowed, blocked or hidden posts from another person because they didn't like the content shared. Surely there's a better way to steer clear of the negativity while also staying informed on the candidates? In fact, there is! Maytag, the century-old dependable American appliance brand, is hoping to make social media newsfeeds a bit more positive and lighthearted, and a lot less negative, by launching the "No Smear Campaign".

Just in time for the launch of its new "smear" and fingerprint resistant stainless steel kitchen suite, users can opt-in to the Maytag No Smear desktop Chrome plug-in to help hide negative, smearing political content and replace it with lighthearted content that all Americans can agree on. Maytag makes it easy to clean up smears in the kitchen and online.

"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?"

Social media users have the opportunity to download Maytag brand's dependable "No Smear" desktop-only Chrome plug-in to help rid their Facebook and Twitter feeds of negative political content. For those opting in, identified political smears will be replaced with content that is a little more lighthearted and delivered by Maytag's new Fingerprint Resistant Stainless Steel kitchen appliances. Users can also see when smearing content has been blocked and have the option to unhide it, if they choose.

To support the No Smear Campaign, Maytag has teamed up with American actress and comedian Abby Elliott to 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."

Maytag also consulted with well-regarded University of Michigan professor and political scientist, Dr. Arthur Lupia to assist in the back-end development of the plug-in to ensure it best reflects current negative political discourse without showing any candidate or party preference. The landing page where users can download the plug-in also leads to all official candidate pages so that Americans can be educated on all options before they take the polls this November.

The No Smear campaign leads up to the launch of Maytag introducing a French Door Refrigerator, Top Control Dishwasher, Range and Microwave, all with a special fingerprint resistant stainless steel exterior making the appliances easy to clean.  

Soon, the daily habits of opening and closing the refrigerator doors or the dog's wet nose sniffing the dishwasher will no longer leave streaks, smears or fingerprints.

The appliances range in price from MSRP $369 to $2,999 and will be available at retailers nationwide.

To download Maytag's No Smear plug-in or to learn more about the new Maytag Fingerprint Resistant Stainless Steel kitchen suite, visit www.maytag.com/nosmear.

About Maytag Brand
For more than a century, Maytag® appliances have been synonymous with dependability and durability. For over 100 years- Maytag has an enduring tradition of quality production and powerful performance. Durable, commercial-grade components are found in many Maytag® appliances – including Maytag® front-load and top-load washers and dryers. Maytag also offers a full range of kitchen appliances - Maytag® dishwashers with the PowerBlast® cycle, Maytag® refrigerators with the Powercold® option, as well as Maytag® ranges, cooktops and ovens with Power™ burner and Power™ element options. In January 2014, Maytag introduced America to the Maytag Man – a dependable machine and the human embodiment of the durability, reliability and power inside all Maytag® appliances. In addition to creating durable appliances, Maytag also is a dependable partner to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America in their effort to support communities across America and help young people achieve great futures.  For more information about Maytag, please visit Maytag.com, or find us on Facebook at Facebook.com/Maytag, Twitter at @TheMaytagMan, Instagram at instagram.com/Maytag or Pinterest at pinterest.com/Maytag.

About Abby Elliott
Abby Elliott is best known for her four seasons as a cast member on NBC's Saturday Night Live. She was the first second-generation cast member on SNL, following in the footsteps of her father, actor and comedian Chris Elliott. Abby co-stars in Bravo's first scripted half hour comedy Odd Mom Out, the second season of which is airing currently. Abby's other television credits include: Difficult People, How I Met Your Mother, Happy Endings, Garfunkel and Oates, Inside Amy Schumer, King of the Hill, and 2 Broke Girls. Abby's feature credits include: Paramount's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with Megan Fox and Will Arnett, the indie film Life Partners alongside Leighton Meester and Gillian Jacobs, High Road opposite Lizzy Caplan and Andy Daly, Sex Ed along with Haley Joel Osment and Matt Walsh, and No Strings Attached with Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher. Before SNL, Abby worked and trained with other SNL alum at the Groundling's Theater and The Upright Citizen's Brigade.

¹ The results in this document represent the findings of a survey conducted by Opinion Research Corporation on behalf of Maytag among a sample of 739 American adults who use social media. The online omnibus study is conducted twice a week among a demographically representative U.S. sample of 1,000 adults 18 years of age and older, with those who use social media answering all questions.  This survey was live on August 1-3, 2016. The margin of error is +/-3.6%.

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SOURCE Maytag