Ed McMahon Rapping for FreeCreditReport.com
FreeCreditReport.com is targeting older consumers online with the debut of former “Tonight Show” personality Ed McMahon telling his personal story of bad credit woes with rap lyrics in viral videos.
The former sidekick of Johnny Carson assumes the persona of “Ed McGangsta” for two one-minute videos that allude to mortgage problems on his $6 million Beverly Hills mansion.
The aged McMahon raps his way through the videos in hip-hop style, both verbally and visually, sporting a fedora and a walking cane in one scene and strolling with a young girl on each arm in another.
The videos, which debuted last week, are available and 50 other Web sites, including YouTube, which will naturally encourage people to send it around, according to Charles Harris, vice president of strategic marketing for FreeCreditReport.com.
The demographic target is a “more mature” audience than the musical TV spots that portray a much younger character relating his fictional woes, he said.
“We’re trying to have some fun and get the word out with an American icon. You wouldn’t expect to see Ed McMahon rapping,” Harris said. “Really it was the next evolution in terms of our ad efforts. It was the next thing for us to try.”
The credit reporting company contacted McMahon after seeing him in a June interview with CNN’s Larry King discussing his difficulties around trying to sell his Beverly Hills home. McMahon was reportedly $644,000 in arrears on a $4.8 million loan for the house at that time, and his lender had filed a notice of default.
“It really is telling a real-life scenario. What’s happening to Ed is what’s happening to a lot of people,” Harris said.
The videos are currently on CNN.com and “Today Show” Web sites after McMahon hit the interview circuit with their debut.
A segment of the lyrics from Ed McGangsta, part II is:
Bought a house for six mill I thought that nothing could touch me
Until my credit went south and debts started to crush me
Next thing I know instead of playing gin rummy
I was scrambling just to make ends meet it wasn’t funny
Got a bump from the media chumps but that was temporary
Life with bad credit was scary
The relationship between McMahon and FreeCreditReport.com covers the current campaign. Harris declined to indicate how long the viral ads would run, but said the company would evaluate a future relationship with the talk show celebrity based on their impact.
FreeCreditReport.com claims to be the leading provider of online credit reports, having delivered 98 million reports to its members to date.
