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SS+K Technology Facebook

Want to know what 'The Donald' said? Get the Trump BFF Facebook Messenger app

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By Kyle O'Brien, Creative Works Editor

August 18, 2016 | 4 min read

The blowhole that is Donald Trump’s mouth spouts some interesting, and often cringe-worthy phrases. So many that you may forget some of the gems he’s frothed out.

Since his positions change so often, one can truly get exhausted. That’s where the BFF Trump bot comes in handy.

Agency SS+K and messaging bot platform Dexter have brought his most outrageous messages into one place with BFF Trump, the only Facebook Messenger bot that gives you a one-on-one conversation with the biggest mouth in the election year.

Trump may be everywhere on news media, but his words aren’t resonating with younger voters who could drive this election. While The Donald has an often-baffling Twitter campaign, one filled with the anti-everything vitriol he’s become known for, the top news source for Millennials remains Facebook. The coveted generation is spending more time in messaging apps than ever before, which is why SS+K decided that the BFF Trump app would be great for Facebook Messenger, especially since Facebook engagement algorithms can skew the kinds of content Millennials are receiving, which made the company realize: Trump, the real Trump, was missing from in the newsfeeds of the politically disengaged.

To build BFF Trump, New York creative agency, SS+K, partnered with Dexter, a startup from Betaworks, a New York internet startup studio. Dexter is a platform that builds and powers a conversational engine – a bot – for a brand, service or institution.

BFF Trump works on Facebook’s desktop or mobile messenger platform and it guides users through a series of conversations about Trump’s views on women, immigration, and so on. With plenty of existing content from Trump speeches and interviews, SS+K was able to use Dexter’s simple bot building tools to get a prototype out quickly. The bot uses hundred of Trump quotes – and growing – to steer the conversation into awkward places, like a recent conversation on women which brought up this Trump gem:

“There’s nothing I love more than women, but they’re really a lot different than portrayed. They are far worse than men, far more aggressive.”

On gays, the bot gave up this nugget of head-scratching goodness:

“There can be no discrimination against gays. I’m against gay marriage.”

How about Trump’s favorite piñata, Mexicans?

“The country of Mexico is killing us. The country of Mexico is taking our jobs, they’re killing us on the border…”

Trump BFF

Type in any number of subjects and you’ll most likely get a response, and if the bot can’t figure out what you’re asking, it will give you one of the orange one’s misspelled tweets.

After you get any of the quotes, the bot will ask if you want more on that subject, if you want another topic or if you hit the “Really?!” button, it will bring up where he said that particular quote. It’s a great way to research his particular flavor of hate speech with ease.

SS+K said that the BFF Trump app is designed to provoke people into action.

“BFF Trump has personality to spare – a narcissistic personality with no impulse control and horrifying attitudes. The BFF Trump project is a chance for young voters to listen to and reject Trump’s messages – before a real President Trump makes those messages unavoidable,” said a statement in the press release for the bot.

So, if you want to know what the man with the marmot hair is saying, you don’t have to watch hours of TV or internet footage, just ask your BFF.

Credits:

  • Kevin Skobac: SVP, Digital Strategy + Innovation, SS+K
  • Claudia Cukrov: Creative, Senior Strategist, SS+K
  • John Swartz: SVP, Director of Production + Innovation, SS+K
  • Craig von Wiederhold: Senior Producer, SS+K
  • Chris Berger: Senior Producer, SS+K
  • Paul Malloy: Research, SS+K
  • Jesse Raker: Design Director, SS+K
  • Caroline O'Toole: Designer, SS+K
  • Brendan Bilko: Head of Product, Dexter
  • David Hu: VP of Engineering, Dexter
  • James Cooper: Head of Creative, Betaworks
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