• The New York Times, Thursday, January 18, 2007 10:45 AM

Those who closely follow Web spending know that LowerMyBills.com is consistently one of the Web's biggest ad spenders. Even if you didn't know that, you've seen their ads: dancing cowboys, rooftop dancers, dressed up dogs and cats all touting the golden road of home refinance.

According to TNS Media Intelligence, LowerMyBills.com spent nearly $75 million on those ads in the first 11 months of 2006. And they're everywhere.

Whatever you think of the surreal flashing images, which have nothing to do with low-interest loans, they work. Rather like the unavoidable pop-up, LowerMyBills' ads are so flashy you almost have to look--and many do, as evidenced by the lucrative 2005 payday for the company's founders when Experian bought it for $400 million in 2005. Because of this, LowerMyBills has drawn the ire of many consumers, who complain vociferously on message boards.

The company's marketing strategy could be regarded as very "un-Advertising 2.0" for deploying the traditional (and some might say wasteful) technique of bulking up on inventory from well-trafficked sites with little use of relevancy or targeting. It does of course track and pursue repeat clickers.

Read the whole story at The New York Times »