Those FreeCreditReport.com guys have been on my snark radar for a long time. But I deactivated my head-mounted quip laser and turned the sarcasm cannon over to "stealth mode" when the ads came up because it seemed like a little, heh, overkill.
Sure, the ads are designed to be hokey and cheesy so they'll get your attention and get guys like me writing about them, scoring tons of free publicity that only a corporate-sponsored puppy flood could replicate. If anything, they should be applauded for being ridiculously short.
But the latest song from the FreeCreditReport.com "band" has been playing more frequently than the others and its incessant tune feels like a cheese grater being rubbed against my ear drum. So I turned on the sniper scope and aimed directly for the spot between each of their glazed-over eyes.
Each commercial aims to tackle a genre of soft to moderate rock and/or rap to espouse the dangers of not knowing one's credit score. It seems, however, those songs were getting so soft that the parents of the 18 to 24 demographic were starting to enjoy them. So they made the song a bit harder, in this ad's case going from Jimmy Dean to Jimmy Buffett.
At least the other ads' songs had a melody, e.g. a series of notes that weaved through and around the lyrics thereby creating a sound that you sort of didn't mind being trapped in your head.
This is just a series of pounding, grating notes that mimic every two words or so that don't go away. They stay in your head all day no matter what you do to make the noise stop (watching a horse autopsy, taking an audible tour of a slaughterhouse, listening to that Barbie Girl song on repeat, all the usual torture methods).
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-18-2009 @ 6:19PM
Jimmy said...
I still find it amazing how a company that "sells" a free has such a large ad budget.
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8-18-2009 @ 6:53PM
Judy said...
I checked it out once. You have to sign up with a credit card for their credit report service, which I hate.
Sometimes companies won't just cancel you when you ask them too after you want out. And since they have your card number they can and (some companies) HAVE, continued to deduct from my card when I've purchased that way! So, I wouldn't take a chance on this group. Lets face it, nothing much is free in this world! And yeah, the commercial does annoy.
10-21-2009 @ 5:55AM
jg said...
What it is, you see, is some internet home business guy who has a deliquent son he needs to keep out of trouble, and he has a garage band that the dad can't stand, and Dad hopes the son can get some publicity and cut a deal with a big producer, except that with this monotone crap nobody in their right mind would ever hire that kid. But the kid seems to think that he's a rock star already because he's on TV. And there are enough suckers in the world to pay for a so-called free credit report to keep this creepy teen on TV. Go figure
8-18-2009 @ 6:28PM
mj said...
I used to like the commercials, especially the 'green' one on the bikes, until I found out these guys are all actors, nary a musician in the bunch, and they aren't even singing!! The singer is a guy from the ad agency. Booooo.
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8-18-2009 @ 7:45PM
H said...
I actually didn't mind that one so much either. I kind of like the music - the guy's creepy "Enzyte" smile bothers me more.
I hate the product. First off, your credit report isn't free if you use their services. As mentioned above, you have to sign up for their credit watch program which can cost as much as $30 bucks a year. (Good luck on getting them to cancel next year) Second, people in most states are entitled to one FREE (yes, actually free) credit report every year through Experian, Equifax or TransUnion. Third, most of the credit "problems" this guy would be experiencing wouldn't really be happening by surprise unless there was fraud on your account. Come on, you can only go so long without paying on your loans and credit lines before your credit score starts to dive-bomb on you. If you're getting declined for new credit lines, chances are YOU KNOW WHY. Checking your credit report on a bi-annual or annual basis can help detect fraud. Plus, even with the credit watch, whether you catch it, or they catch it, you still have to go through the pain of exercising your recourse to get it straightened out.
Their commercials are a little misleading in other ways too. Since when does your credit score affect what job you're going to get? Unless you work for a financial institution or (sometimes) the government, your credit score shouldn't matter when applying for a job. If your employer DOES run your credit, they're obligated to get your signature on an authorization anyway, so it shouldn't be a surprise.
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8-19-2009 @ 11:08PM
wulfn1 said...
ok first the reason I'm replying to this particular response..
In this state at least, credit IS checked on most jobs , especially any jobs involving working with money. (guess they figure if you have bad credit you might tap the till..)
Having said that, I hate free credit report dot com. It is not "free" , you only get one reporting agency for the low low price of giving up your credit card info (wow you actually must have some brief amount of credit to find out you have no credit...), the other two credit reporting agencies reports can be yours for the low low price of ..what is it now? 19.99 or something PER MONTH. nothing free there.
Aside from the misleading advertising and myriad reasons to actually know your credit level and who's reporting about you, I kinda like most of those credit report band commercials. The kids are cute, look like they are a bunch of kids who formed a garage band growing up, tell a goofy little story with each jingle , and have recurring characters (wow sounds almost like a musical sit com). The one I dislike the most isn't the cell phone one though.. it's the rollercoaster one. I think it sort of lost a bit of its humor and the song isn't nearly as catchy as the others.
8-18-2009 @ 7:58PM
ch said...
Vesicare with the pipe people is terrible.
So dumb
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8-19-2009 @ 3:17AM
bruce said...
The only thing more annoying than these fake musicians and their lame songs is the fact that they're advertising 100% pure fraud.
"Free with purchase" should be per se illegal to advertise, and that's what they're doing here - they sneak that little "offer applies with enrollment in triple advantage" into the end of all their commercials. In case anyone doesn't read Consumerist or has been living under a rock, they get your credit card number, charge you $20/month to give you your credit scores (which you can get for "real" free once per year), and they don't tell you they're going to do this, and then you cannot get them to stop charging your credit card without actually cancelling the card. It's a fraudulent scheme to rip people off.
Oh, and their commercials are based on untrue threats. "You better check your spouse's credit score or you could be held liable for her debt and be living in a crappy apartment instead of being "a happy bachelor with a dog and a yard"... but that's total bullshit. That's not the way it works. It should be just as illegal to scare people with fake threats as putting an asterisk on the word "free" ... these guys are running the same scam as the Enzyte dick pill people, who are now serving 20 years in federal prison. Hopefully SOMEONE will not only lock up the people behind (not)freecreditreport dot com but also lock up the fake musicians in these horrendously annoying commercials for public indecency, nuisance, conspiracy to commit nuisance and conspiracy to commit fraud, and for accessory to fraud.
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8-19-2009 @ 7:28AM
Lisa said...
I have hated these since their onset and so am thrilled you called them out. For whatever reason lately my broadcast on certain stations has the video and audio askew and when that happens it is even more obvious that none of those guys are singing. Even when they match it is probably the worst lip syncing ever.
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8-19-2009 @ 7:45AM
mail4bh said...
These commercials are the WORST. I either change the channel or mute the TV immediately...it depends on which button on the remote my thumb is closest to. And, if I don't have the remote, it becomes a sprint to where the remote is...or a sprint to the TV to turn it off the old fashioned way.
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8-19-2009 @ 11:28PM
RobynM said...
I must be in the minority - although I don't think much of the product, I do enjoy the commercials.
The melody in the clip above sounds a lot like stuff I hear on the local "alternative" station, so it's not exactly out of step with what's going on musically.
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9-01-2009 @ 12:23AM
Heather Jamieson said...
Just wanted to dispel some of the misinformation on this thread. All three members of the "FreeCreditReport" band are professional musicians. Eric Violette (the front man) is a singer/songwriter along with being an actor. He is in the process of putting together his new band, God Against God, and recording some demo tapes. He also has some of his live performances up on YouTube. Mario Telaro is a professional drummer, and plays with his bands "White Hounds" and "Engines of Peace" in and around Montreal. Mario and both bands have web pages on MySpace. And Vince Charron is a professional bass player, also located in Montreal.
As to FreeCreditReport.com, they are a for-profit enterprise which wouldn't last long in business giving away their services. When you sign up, you get a FREE Experian credit report and a FREE Experian credit score. You can cancel within 7 days and owe nothing. I've done this several times prior to purchasing real estate just to get a ballpark figure of where my score is at.
And if you find the commercials annoying and have to fumble for your remote "every time they ome on", you're watching way too much TV. Just get up off the couch and the problem is solved.
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9-18-2009 @ 12:20AM
Wolf E said...
Nothing is free about freecreditreport.com, period! You click on their link, and in just three easy steps, you're on your way to your free credit report, not! Be careful. In one of those 3 easy steps, you have to supply a credit card number, and that number, along with your name and other data, goes to an offshore processing center. Good luck with that one. Once that have that number, you're screwed, my friends. Luckily, I am wise enough to dtect a legal scam when I see one. Buyer beware!
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