I’m in the middle of a software project and don’t have time for a long post, but I have to comment on some of the ads that keeping showing up in my browser when I stop for a surfing break. Roughly half of them warn us that Homeowners Fail To Refinance! The little bit of text informs us that only 85,000 homeowners have taken advantage of Obama’s refinancing plan. And just look … there’s Obama, obviously disturbed as yet another home goes into foreclosure because the silly homeowners didn’t take advantage of his plan. I’m no fan of Obama, but it’s annoying to see these goofs hijacking his image for an ad.
I’m going step out on a limb here and suggest that if most homeowners aren’t refinancing, they don’t need to. (Some of them may even have this crazy idea that once they sign a contract with a lender, they shouldn’t take advantage of the government’s willingness to step in force the lender to cancel it.) But what’s just plain weird are the pictures the advertisers choose.
This guy, for example. If you see him walking into a bank, your first thought probably isn’t “Now there’s a man who inspires confidence in mortgage lenders.” He looks like he lives in a commune, for pete’s sake. Somebody please explain to me the logic of putting his face on an for anything having to do with finances.
And what’s the message we’re supposed to get from this picture? I can only guess:
- This man is broke because didn’t refinance his home, so now he has to wear the glasses he bought in 1977.
- If this man would just refinance his home, he could stop moonlighting as welder.
- This poor sap spent all his savings trying to prove Harry Caray was his biological father, so now he’s broke and needs to refinance his home.
Apparently believing the picture wasn’t disturbing enough already, the advertisers later decided to Photoshop in some truly strange-looking teeth. Now the poor guy looks positively ape-like. The only way I can reproduce this expression is to pretend I’m Tim Allen doing his “Argh! Argh! Argh!” routine.
I’ve been seeing this one a lot lately too. The text informs us that this Nashville mom found a way to earn $37 per hour working at online from home. I don’t know what she’s doing online, but judging by her expression, it involves taking video Skype calls.
Okay, enough surfing. Back to work. I’d like to buy a house in Tennessee this year, and I don’t plan to need any help from Obama.
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I hadn’t seen the guy with the glasses (and now teeth!), but I thought the guy with the hair looked like he was going to a Halloween party as Charles Manson. Now they’ve got one with a guy who looks like Don Imus with a bad case of constipation.
My wife says they choose strange faces because it makes us look. Okay, that sort of makes sense.
You sound like you are in desperate need of an adblocker.
I use a popup blocker, but these are also showing up in the sidebars of standard pages.
“Somebody please explain to me the logic of putting his face on an ad for anything having to do with finances.” Not only is Obama mad at you so is Jesus.
I think they use the guy with the glasses so people think “I don’t want to be like that Dork, I’d better refinance!”
That would explain the addition of the ape-like teeth.
I keep seeing the Charlie Manson guy as the picture for “Obama wants to send single moms to school” ads. ????
If that’s a woman, I’m pretty sure she’s single.
Have you seen the one about debt relief, accompanied by a photo of a pig-faced creature? So are they saying we’ll be out of debt when pigs fly? Or are they speaking of all the pork in our national spending? I think there may be subliminal messages in these unusual photo and ad pairings.
I somehow missed that one. Now I kind of hope I see it.
I think they use those pictures because they catch our eye. Kind of like the annoying dancer ads that thankfully aren’t as ubiquitous as they used to be. I think all these companies are offshoots of LowerMyBills.com. I hate these ads with a passion and while yes they do get my attention I would never in a million years click on one.
I’m with ya. I don’t reward annoying advertisers.
Oh My God… I was just thinking recently “That’s be funny if I did a bit on those weird looking people that are now lodged in everyone’s subconscious”. They’re so lame, and they’ve been up for like 6 months at least. Now I have to deal with looking at a weird old guy every time I check my mail.
What’s sad is that they have probably only left them up for so long because internet illiterate people keep clicking them out of sheer curiosity. STOP CLICKING THEM, PEOPLE!!!!! IT’S JUST AN AD!!!!!
I’m glad someone else is questioning these images for lowermybills.com. They must be designed to catch your eye, by being scary and weird. The current one is an old guy with a disgusted expression. Are people really that curious about these scary faces to click on them?
I guess they must working, since the advertisers keep using them.