Add "macabre irony" to the "icky," "slightly disturbing" and "sick humor" labels critiquing reviewers gave Super Bowl XL commercials produced by subprime lender Ameriquest.
The Orange, CA-based subprime lender recently settled to pay $325 million to consumers, 49 states and the District of Columbia.
It also won the two top slots in Alviso, CA-based TiVo's Top 10 Superbowl LX Commercials, based on replay activity among 10,000 subscribers.
The company employed black humor to produce two commercials with an ironic things-aren't-always-what-they-appear-to-be theme designed, in a humorously twisted way, to convey hope.
The flip-side of the same theme forced Ameriquest into a landmark settlement without admitting any wrong doing.
The second largest state or federal mortgage consumer protection agreement in history, stems from years of consumer complaints and ultimately state suits against the company for allegedly deceiving thousands of consumers by using high-pressure tactics to boost their monthly quotas and commissions.
To thousands, mortgage terms weren't what they appeared to be.
Consumers and attorneys general claimed the company misrepresented the actual amount of interest consumers had to pay, inflated home appraisals that resulted in home owners getting loans they couldn't afford and failed to clearly disclose fees or penalties associated with paying loans off ahead of schedule.
Ameriquest denied any wrong doing.
Ameriquest, the nation's largest subprime lender whose license was unscathed by the settlement, says its commercials are designed to reveal what the lender really does -- helps borrowers land a mortgage when that might not be possible through prime lending channels.
"We are dedicated to looking at the whole story, the whole person, and not judging you too quickly," it says in a statement discussing the Super Bowl commercials.
To make their point during the nation's single most-watched sporting event, Ameriquest spent an estimated $2.5 million for each 30-second spot, according to the going rate from the ABC network which aired the game.
In the TiVo-rated No. 1 commercial by Ameriquest, a woman with a window seat aboard a commercial jetliner gets the call to nature and tries to crawl over snoozing passengers, just as the jet hits turbulence. The lights flicker and fade and when they brighten she's seen disheveled, perched in another passenger's lap as if the two have just joined the Mile High Club.
In the No. 2 commercial, a doctor uses a defibrillator paddle to zap a fly buzzing over a snoozing patient. With paddles in hand, the errant physician exclaims, "That killed him," just as the patient's family appears in the doorway.
What's this got to do with mortgages?
"At Ameriquest, we know that sometimes bad things can happen to good people, and that the truth of a situation is often disguised by initial impressions," the lender explains in its statement about the commercials.
The macabre irony for many home owners is that they say details in their mortgages were disguised by initial impressions.
And they don't think that's funny.
Ameriquest denies any wrong doing.
Editor's note: Alan Maltum, speaking for Ameriquest, says, "On behalf of our client, Ameriquest, we are requesting a correction or clarification of the Feb. 9. 2006 column you published by Broderick Perkins “Chilly Reception for Ameriquest’s Hot Super Bowl Commercials.” The column erroneously implied that the company’s Superbowl ads were not well received by viewers and twisted the facts to build a sarcastic commentary about the company. I am forwarding you a copy of a recent story about TiVo’s rankings of the ads. You can also view TiVo’s news release on its survey by Googling the company. As you can see from the story below, Ameriquest’s ads had a far from “chilly reception.” They ranked as the first and second most often replayed ads by 10,000 TiVo customers surveyed. We don’t know where Mr. Perkins came up with his other descriptions of viewer reaction, as this information was unattributed. But TiVo’s survey results and logic suggest people don’t continue to replay television ads they do not like." To see the TiVo press release, click here .
