There’s something irritating about this ad that keeps showing up in my email, and it’s more than the fact that "debt-free" and "no-obligation" need to be hyphenated.

There are tons of companies out there looking to help people manage their debt. Makes sense, because there’s a ton of debt to be managed: For example, the average American who has credit cards owes about $8,000 on those cards. As you can imagine, lead generation in this area is a thriving business.

I don’t know anything good or bad about Christian Debt Experts, but tacking "Christian" in front of "Debt Experts" irks me. I’d probably feel the same way if I saw "Christian Macaroni and Cheese" or "Christian Body Wash" in the supermarket aisle.

Taking a commodity product (like debt management or macaroni and cheese) and using a religious adjective as a way to boost sales of something that has no fundamental spiritual component just feels wrong.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 18th, 2008 at 6:00 am and is filed under Marketing Stuff.