Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Is the NDP sending donations overseas?

Speaking of the NDP's new pre-election advertising campaign, which they're actively soliciting donations to support, it's interesting to look at the company they appear to be using for the online video component of their campaign: VISMAIL.

Based in the United Kingdom and with their North American office in Minnesota, VISMAIL is an e-mail marketing company that allows marketers to send video ads in their e-mails. The video in the NDP e-mail uses their platform, click on the link and you're taken to the video running on their servers: http://www.vismailv2.co.uk/direct/clients/yrtvqss/temp1034/vismail.php?rid=17379&cid=765. Note the "co.uk" denoting a UK-based server.

I'm sure VISMAIL is a great company. Their clients include companies like BMW, Microsoft and United Christian Broadcasting.

But, particularly with the NDP looking for tax-receiptable donations with these e-mails and presumably paying for the campaign with donations as well, wouldn't it have been possible for "Canada's NDP" to find a Canadian e-mail marketing company to support, rather than sending that money overseas?

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7 comments:

Nobody in Ottawa said...

I wonder how many tax-receiptable donations were used to pay for Howard Deans' appearance at the latest Liberal leadership convention? Or that Irish rock star's appearance at the one before that?

Mark Richard Francis said...

nobody...

Hmmm... paying for a speaker is hardly the same thing. The idea there is to bring in fresh ideas.

The Greens brought in Trippi, for instance.

Northern BC Dipper said...

Ohhh! I notice that the NDP used YouTube as well to promote those ads. YouTube is based in California. Maybe the NDP should have used a popular Canadian video sharing site. Oh wait...

Greg said...

I wonder if they paid for it in cash in a Montreal restaurant?

Jay said...

It's not the NDP's fault.

They was probably just acting on advice from Layton's doctor, you know, the one at the private clinic.

The Rat said...

Gee, I just asked a similar question at Cherniak's Blog. I wonder how Canadians will feel when Dion's "Green Campaign" sends Canadian-tax-receipted donations to the US to buy carbon offsets that will fund remediation projects outside Canada?

Jeff said...

Northern dipper, respectfully I think there's a difference between posting a video for free on a free video-sharing service, and paying a UK company to provide services to your Canadian political campaign.