A while back I blogged about the deceptive advertising practices by FreeCreditReport.com (sorry no link for bad boys). Today’s NY Times echoes my dismay. FCR, which is actually owned by the big credit reporting service Experian, claim to offer “free” credit reports, but they actually require enrollment in a $15/month paid service.

“Consumer groups have long objected to sites like FreeCreditReport.com. Consumers may obtain a free credit report each year from the three major agencies, as mandated by an act that Congress passed in 2003. The only authorized site for that is AnnualCreditReport.com.” (NY Times)

Consumer reaction is pretty predictable. This Lifehacker post gives you a peek at some of the negative feedback.

It’s like I always say: Be straight with people, especially prospective customers. The truth always gets out, no what your marketing might claim.

Only the good die young? Another one bites the dust? How do you describe the unthinkable?

My mouth literally fell open at the news today that Tim Russert had died suddenly. It felt like a death in the family, although I never knew him except from his television appearances and books.

Tim was one of the good guys: passionate about politics, a master of his craft, a hard working, decent man who adored his family and never forgot his working class roots in his (and my) hometown of Buffalo, NY. In fact, Tim and I went to the same high school at the same time. I regret never getting to know him then. Now, I guess, I never will.

My thoughts are with you, Tim — and of course, with Big Russ, too.

“What the headline giveth, the small print taketh away,” grumbles the old advertising cynic. Sad to say it’s true, even in this era of supposed transparency.

Take the TV ads for FreeCreditReport.com. A young guy dressed like a pirate, singing (OK, lip-syncing) a catchy little tune about he’s stuck in this nowhere job because his credit was whacked. If only he’d taken advantage of the sponsor’s free credit reporting service.

Except the free service isn’t really free. First you have to enroll in their (paid) Triple Advantage program. But that fact is kept hidden until (literally) the very last line of each spot. The net effect is to admit that everything you’ve said up to this point has been a lie. The truth is, you have to pay $15 per month for X before you get the free Y. Which means Y isn’t really free.

Clever, I admit. They build the ads around the “free” offer, the bonus, even though what they’re really pushing is the paid service. FreeCreditReport is from Experian, the big credit reporting agency, not some fly-by-night. So I assume they honor their promise to cancel your membership within four days after you come to your senses cancel.

But it’s understandable why you might be hesitant. Any company that’s deceptive about a supposedly “free” service might also be the kind of company that makes it really difficult (read: nearly impossible) to cancel once you’ve handed over your credit card information. After all, why would a company like that suddenly play it straight when it comes to letting you out of your contract?

My purpose is not to knock Experian, but to caution against this kind of “gotcha” marketing tactic. They can backfire and cause grave harm to your brand. Think about that next time your marketing guru suggests making pie-in-the-sky promises. If you deliver real value to your customers, there’s no need to be deceptive or sneaky.

And in the Internet age, you will be found out.

Am I the only one who gets mesmerized by those ultra-simple UPS commercials? Apparently not, according to Slate’s Seth Stephenson, who gives a great behind-the-scenes look at those ads here. (You can watch the whole series of UPS spots here.)
You can’t take your eyes off them. There’s something about all that white space, and the guy’s mastery of the dry erase marker, and the quick, simple stories he tells. It’s hard to look away. (The long-haired guy, by the way, is not an actor, but Andy Azula, the creative director of the ad campaign. Bravo, Andy.)

Other companies are trying a similar approach. “Companies are increasingly using simple pictures to distill complicated concepts into easily shared, easily remembered nuggets,” says Fast Company in a piece called The Napkin Sketch. FC quotes Tuft’s Neil Cohn, a researcher in cognitive psychology and linguistics at Tufts University:

“Graphic expression and visual thinking are a central part of human cognition… These ideas are spreading from how companies sell what they do — as in UPS’s “Whiteboard” ad campaign — to plotting strategy.”

Just for laughs, my wife, who’s a talented artist, did a quick sketch of me when I first hung out my shingle as a freelance copywriter in March, 2001. I was amazed. It was quick and funny — the T-shirt reads “Will Write for $.” It’s also probably closer to the “real me” than anything a brand artist could come up with.

I’ve never shown it publicly before, but if quick and simple sketches are the latest thing in branding, maybe now it’s time.

What do you think? Is it too silly and frivolous for an (ahem) “professional” like myself? Or should I start using it as part of my identity and brand? Tell me in the comments. I really would appreciate your input.

Talk about mis-cast. Katie Couric was never right for the CBS Evening News. Miss Perky was a big success in the morning, on the Today show. But her brand was all wrong for an evening newscast. She was too soft for hard news.

[Aside: Dan Rather was all wrong, too, imho. Too edgy and twitchy for an anchor. But he was awesome getting in Nixon's face at news conferences. A news anchor used to require an authoritative, avuncular presence. That's why "Uncle" Walter Cronkite was so perfect in the '60s and '70s. Of course, those halcyon television days are long gone, with the Internet (and the Daily Show) now the primary news source for people like me. And the most important qualification for a news anchor today is blonde hair, long legs and short skirts. ]

But I digress.

As I mentioned yesterday, I’m seeking revenge on Time Magazine for passing over me for their Top 25 blogs. So far I haven’t been able to sink my fangs into Time. But I HAVE nudged Katie Couric closer to the ledge, sparked a blow up at Howard Stern’s show, and gotten Michael Johns kicked off of America Idol.

Yeah, that was all me, folks. Heh heh.

Time — consider yourself warned.