I’ve written a bit about U.S. presidential hopefuls using digital marketing to promote their campaigns. Barack Obama especially has made smart use of mobile and SMS messaging, while Republicans and Democrats alike send out email updates and newsletters. But I’ve got to admit, the presidential candidates in Zimbabwe can school the Americans any day.

The Zimbabwean presidential election, held Saturday, was preceded with SMS campaigns that some might think are more appropriate for fights between rival musicians than national leaders. The messages were used to make fun of other hopefuls while urging voters to elect the sender’s candidate of choice. For example, supporters of former ruling party finance minister Simba Makoni are believed to have sent the following text that puts down the now-ousted president Robert Mugabe and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) candidate Morgan Tsvangirai:

“Robert Mugabe should be sent to farm, while Morgan Tsvangirai should be sent to school… And Simba Makoni must be allowed to rule.”

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