FTC Parodies FreeCreditReport.Com Ads (VIDEO)

FTC Parodies FreeCreditReport.Com Ads (VIDEO)

The Federal Trade Commission is hoping to go viral.

On Tuesday the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection uploaded some funny videos to YouTube -- parodies of the absurdly popular ads for FreeCreditReport.com. The agency has twice spanked ad-makers for deceiving consumers, because the service provided at FreeCreditReport.com isn't really free at all.

A spokeswoman working for the FTC says the ads cost $100,000 to produce, but the government's not spending any money to put the spots on television. One of the ads features an admirably credit-conscious young man in an apartment, the other shows the guy at his job in an Irish restaurant.

Watch:

A key difference seems to be that the man in the FreeCreditReport.com ads is forced to wear funny garb because a credit problem caught him off guard and affected his employment prospects, whereas the fellow in the FTC's ad seems to be wearing funny garb just for fun.

Since the spirit of comedy is in the air, I wonder if anyone's had an actual experience with FreeCreditReport.com that is as funny as any of these ads. Share your stories -- email me: arthur@huffingtonpost.com. The funniest stuff will be featured in a future post.

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