The Poll
(Remastered 2021)
I don’t want this to come off the wrong way, because I’m aware art—advertising can be pretentious. But after years of trying to express a range of inner conflict, I continually come back to this post. Not just the words, but the sequence of writing, timing, and the balance of responses. I could never consciously create such a meaningful moment.
A lightning bolt into the war-peace struggle of America. Made possible only by the guise of a novelty food account. The code cracked clear: USA <3’s War.
69 is the “nice” number. It’s a symmetrical figure in the shape of the yin yang. It’s peace.
420 is a police code. It’s what you laugh at if you think stoners are dumb. Hippy bullying. Even numbers counting down like a bomb.
The tweet was posted on September 6, 2019. I’m not in charge of scheduling.
That’s 9/6/19. At 3:11pm.
Over 90,000 responses. 2/3 war. 1/3 peace. Not an insignificant sample size of America.
It got the attention of media. One talk show host heard the words “sense of humor” and proceeded to laugh like it was a command and not a feeling. Jim Cramer a bit more natural.
Official questions lead to rehearsed answers. When you think something is a joke—when there are no consequences—you feel uninhibited in your response. If you think this is some kind of late night hoax, you’re partially right. But I’ve written and rewritten this for 5 years, my brand sonata, and I still can’t tell if I’m kidding.