That is the message Credit Canada, a Toronto-area non-profit credit counselling service and association established in 1966, is trumpeting with their recent marketing blitz.
Geared toward consumers in advance of the holiday shopping season and given the current economic crisis, Laurie Campbell, executive director of Credit Canada, estimates the budget for the TV part of the campaign at about $250,000. I guess we can assume this was paid for with briefcases full of cash?
In the 30-second spot “Eviction Notice,” a woman embarking on an extensive shopping spree returns home to find she’s evicted.
For much of its existence, Credit Canada has relied primarily on transit and out-of-home advertising. This is their first foray into TV advertising.
According to Campbell, web traffic on CreditCanada.com has increased by between 75% and 100%, while bookings with the agency have increased by about 30% since the spot debuted on Oct. 20.
The TV commercial, which completed a month-long flight in October (the plan calls for another flight in January), is augmented by transit ads showing people carrying shopping bags bearing phrases like “I just won’t eat for a week,” “It’s not my fault. My parents weren’t that good with money either” and “Oops! I did it again.”
Credit Canada estimates that Canadians are currently $1.3 trillion in debt (including mortgages), a figure almost twice as high as the country’s GNP, with the average Canadian household about $80,000 in debt.
Credit Brain 