Superbowl Commercials: The Chutzpah Award
Two of the most clever ads on the Superbowl were for Ameriquest. Both showed people in embarrassing positions from which the onlookers drew exactly the wrong inference. The tag line: Don’t judge too quickly.
Ameriquest is a predatory lender that got caught—big time. It has offered a shocking $325 million to settle lawsuits and investigations in 49 states and the District of Columbia. Right now, 200,000 homeowners—people who were cheated by Ameriquest—will have to decide whether to take the money or to pursue their own lawsuits. And this clever campaign tells us their response: Not "We’re sorry." Not "We promise to be trust-worthy in the future." Not even the all-purpose “Mistakes were made.” Nope, their response is “Don’t judge too quickly.” It is all a joke, and the wink-wink implication is that they didn’t really do anything bad.
This is how bold the predators of all stripes have become. Cheat good people, get caught, and turn it into a clever ad campaign. Perhaps this new business model will become the standard whenever corporate fraud is exposed. Maybe Jack Abramoff and his Washington buddies are paying close attention. Ameriquest can lead the way.
Ameriquest. Sales reps promises that disappear when the papers are signed. Hidden fees. Excessive costs. Cheating homeowners may look like a safe business because once they have moved in, most will to anything they can to come up with the money to hang on to the house. Even at $325 million, Paul Wenske at the Kansas City Star speculates that the settlement won’t compensate most people and that many homeowners will opt out of the settlement in favor of a class action.
Perhaps Ameriquest has good reason to believe that Americans will overlook a little thing like cheating 200,000 homeowners. As we have noted here before, George W. Bush is good buddies with the CEO of Ameriquest. The CEO is one of Bush's biggest contributors, and, even in the midst of this stink, Bush has nominated him to become ambassador to the Netherlands. Bush evidently understands the virtues of not judging too quickly--at least, not judging rich campaign contributors.
So tell us, Ameriquest, when can we judge? I’m guessing there are at least 200,000 homeowners who are ready to judge now. And I’m willing to join them.
Not knowing the backstory, I found the Ameriquest ads to be only mid-range offensive, with a few of the beer commercials being downright disgusting, and many others merely baffling (FedEx cavemen?). But overall, the SuperBowl ad orgy left me feeling sick about the state of American culture. So much violence and blatant ignorance, pathetic disregard for others. I don't really expect ads to be uplifting, not like the sight of grown heavy athletic men pounding each other on the field of battle, but I was dispirited by the aggressive dumb-down of the ads. It seems the lowest common denominator keeps getting lower.
February 6, 2006 10:51 AM | Reply | Permalink