Maybe it's that my eyes are freshly open to this garbage, but everywhere I look I see credit bureaus hammering home deceptive messages. Last week I told you who credit bureaus really are, today we are talking about how they chip away at your sensibility piece by piece.
What you're about to watch is simply stupid, and frankly, deceptive. Having a "great" credit score will not make a car dealer start handing-out upgrades. I'm sure Experian, the credit bureau advertising the importance of a strong FICO score, will say this commercial is meant to be humorous, but whether it's a joke or not, the message of credit score gamification is delivered.
Why would a for profit credit bureau, one whose stock price has climbed 400% since 2009, put out a commercial like this? This isn't a 'The More You Know' ad. It's a major television commercial. It's just one piece to the credit crutch puzzle. My comments may seem like the ramblings of a mad man, but to me this ad is a perfect example of subliminal advertising.
Who has all the power in this ad? The seller? No, the buyer. He's calling the shots and controlling the deal. That is reality. A credit score will not switch the dynamics of a car deal.
And how about this ad? What's the message? Experian will claim they are being hyperbolic, but is the message still delivered?
What's the takeaway from these ads? It's that having a good credit score will get unlock advantage, not more debt. And what will help you build this arbitrary score up? The tools, monitoring services, and tips at Experian's website.
Look, I know I'm taking this too far. But the fact is that credit bureaus want you to get caught-up in the credit score goose chase, so they can charge the businesses buying your data more. The more of a "complete" borrower you are, the more money they can make off of you.
Every time you see a credit bureau ad, ask yourself "what's really being sold?"
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