dobber

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSqVGvl3DUM

Wow

Talks about stereotyping!! Does the world really see us cyclists as poor, unreliable credit risks? I like how they also show the main antagonist blowing through crosswalk in front of the crossing guard. Total Fail

cyclezealot

ah they are trying to be funny. But, it is probably the majority stereotype. Including blowing thru a stop sign.. ANything out of the norm will not be understood. And even if we stop at a stop sign on a 6K velo, we are still thought weird. All, we can do is live with it.. Personallly, I like being thought, out fo the norm.. Being normal is nothing to brag about.

BarracksSi

Oh, get over it. Even the bike shop saw him as a credit risk.

oakback

This was discussed at length in another section (I forget which). If you listen, they're not in any way saying that cyclists have bad credit. They're saying that:

1. Someone stole his identity/ruined his credit
2. He wanted to be more eco-friendly, so he ditched his car for a bike
3. He wanted to finance his bicycle, but had bad credit, so the bike store said "this is all we have", indicating that the bike he's on isn't that great (now THERE'S the debatable point)

The Paper Boy

OK, but is Joe Six Pack, the SUV driver really listening to those lyrics? Or is he just seeing the image, some guy riding about on a bike because he can't afford a car? And showing him blowing past a crossing guard, with Grandma giving him the evil eye? How many elderly people will see that image and form a negative opinion about bike riders, that we're law breakers.

genec

Yeah try laying down 3 to 4 K for a nice upper end bike with poor credit... LOL.

oakback

Holy **** you are looking WAY too much into this. "Joe Six Pack" will think, "dur, what a cool song! I'ma get me a free credit report!" (then consequently be charged $12 a month for credit monitoring)

hotbike

I thought the advertisement was very positive and upbeat. Very nice to see bicycles in a mainstream, prime-time, TV ad.

fourteenbucks

I don't know what they're talking about. When I was looking at bikes a couple of months ago, I was approved for $3000 of Trek credit.

srmatte

lighten up dude

Sixty Fiver

There is a perception among many non cyclists that of you ride a bike you are doing it because you are poor, have lost your license, or are some kind of eco- freak.

They don't realize that for some, this has been a well thought out choice on our parts and that there are many reasons for riding instead of driving.

I-Like-To-Bike

You forgot the smiley face with your successful troll.

Laika

This advertisement is offensive to all human beings everywhere. I don't think cyclists should feel any particular outrage about this, it is an insult to all that is correct in the world.

jtaddei

i think all the credit report company wants you to remember is their website, which in my opinion is the only reason why i hate these commercials.

My personal favorite is the one where he works in the pirate restaurant. I think that was more blatant "my identity got stolen now i have to work a degrading job". FYI A lot of people work in restaurants that enjoy their job. At least he wasn't cleaning port-a-potty's or anything.

BarracksSi

Then again, the occasional survey thread -- usually in either Commuting or Living Car-Free -- about "When did you start cycling everywhere?" has more stories than not of somehow running low on cash, getting a DUI, or purposely doing it to save the environment. The last thread I saw had more sad stories than not, honestly.

So, I'd say that the perception you describe isn't far from the truth.

CB HI

Another dobber troll thread, how boring.

zeytoun

His motto is apparently, "Be the strawman that you wish to see defeated"

But Stephen Colbert he is not...

CB HI

^^
You got that right!

dobber

I prefer "Celebrating 5 Years of Smart People Responding to Dumb Posts"

StrangeWill

In the other commercial he had a ****ty hatchback, he ditched that for a bike.

crhilton

That's a great ad. It takes a stereotype, makes fun of it, and doesn't try to reinforce it. While doing that it displays their product and tells a story.

You'd have to be hypersensitive to be offended by this one.

chris_farley

I'm offended by the entire company.

freecreditreport.com is a website set up by Experian, one of the three major companies that keeps track of consumer credit. It is a complete scam, as in order to get your "free" credit report, you have to provide a credit card number and they will bill you $14.95 per month.

Their website is deliberately misleading, as federal law *requires* that consumers can get a free credit report from all three major credit agencies once a year. They have a website set up for this, called annualcreditreport.com. There is no advertising or marketing for this website at all, as it is not a commercial endeavor.

freecreditreport.com basically profits off of the confusion of people who try to access their actual legal, free credit reports. If you think their advertising is scummy, it's probably because it's a scummy company in general.

dynodonn 

Funny,I just happen to be thinking about this ad a couple of days ago. I liked a large portion of the ad with the exception of the part were it says that he still looks bad on the older bike. I'm sure there's quite a few forumites here that would love to have the bike he's riding.

The Paper Boy

Looking at his other posts, he seems to have managed to raise the hackles of the forum pretty well. I'd have to say

SPlKE 

I'll see your troll and raise you...


The joke is, guy in the ad wanted campy, but had to settle for shimano because he's a deadbeat.