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Friday, March 29, 2024

Web site scams students unaware of free credit report law

FreeCreditReport.com, the credit-reporting service owned by Experian, recently released its latest TV commercial in its ubiquitous "guy sings about his bad credit" ad campaign, which raises an important question: How the hell are these ads still on TV?

Don/t get me wrong. The FreeCreditReport.com commercials, from an advertising standpoint, are incredibly well-executed. The lyrics are clever; the songs become instant earworms and most everybody I know has a favorite spot (mine/s the one with the bicycles). It/s no wonder why Experian poured upward of $70 million into the Web site/s advertising budget in 2007.

The Martin Agency, FreeCreditReport.com/s ad agency, has undoubtedly created an amazingly effective ad campaign. It/s also created one of the most unethical ad campaigns in recent memory.

The context: In 2003, the FACT Act was signed into law, which entitled consumers to a free annual credit report from the three major consumer credit reporting agencies, Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. To comply with the law, the three agencies and the Federal Trade Commission established AnnualCreditReport.com. Unfortunately, AnnualCreditReport.com was woefully underpublicized, leaving many consumers vaguely aware of their right to a credit report but not having any real idea of how to go about getting it.

Enter FreeCreditReport.com. With a deluge of TV commercials that sought to position it as the prima facie free credit report Web site, the company successfully preyed upon consumers/ ignorance of the law and exploited consumers/ fears about hackers and identity theft. Of course, FreeCreditReport.com/s credit reports aren/t actually free. At the end of most of the commercials, an announcer hurriedly says, "Offer applies with enrollment in Triple Advantage," the Web site/s $14.95 per month credit-monitoring service. In essence, it/s like saying, "Free Cinnamon Toast Crunch! Offer applies with purchase of the box."

And consumers have been hoodwinked. The Federal Trade Commission/s Web site warns against "imposter" Web sites and released a series of web public service announcements that parody FreeCreditReport.com/s ads, dorky singing guitarist and all.

This isn/t to say that consumers duped by FreeCreditReport.com are blameless. This information is readily available with a quick Google search, and consumers shouldn/t blindly follow financial advice from some guy on TV - let alone one dressed like a pirate.

But it/s rare that an advertising campaign so flagrantly acts in bad faith and treats consumers with such overt contempt. Even though they/re lighthearted, they manipulate and amplify very real fears of stolen identity and future unemployment. Catchy, rhyming fear-mongering, after all, is still fear-mongering. And building a business predicated on your consumers/ ignorance is simply mean-spirited.

College students should be particularly offended. In a 2008 New York Times article, Mike Dean, a marketing executive at Experian, said that the idea behind the ads are to appeal to a young crowd. "[W]e were targeting a younger audience," he said. "That/s exactly what we/ve received with that: we have a lot younger demographic coming into our site."

Gee, thanks, Mike.

FreeCreditReport.com/s marketing practices are entirely unscrupulous, and the Martin Agency - an agency whose others ads, like those for GEICO, I love - should be ashamed of its complicity in it. Both deserve all the scorn we can muster.

Joe Dellosa is an advertising senior.

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