I think spam is a hard word in that context. People are very excited about this contest and many have invested a lot of time and efforts to participate. The prize pool is incredibly attractive, so I understand that the creators want to get as much attention for their entry as possible. Probably not everybody is a hero when it comes to sensitive self-marketing, yet i don't think that should be a reason to say that he doesn't to deserve to win the contest.
You should rather blame @pranto for not spelling my name correctly in the promo message 😉
xD Suffermarly would be worse :P
Hahaha, you're damn right @ivansnz - it always depends on the point if view, ain't it? :-D
absolutely haha
I think spam is the right word if you send several users randomly a direct message and asking for an upvote.