Credit One Crushes the Credit Wreckers in NYC
The Credit Wreckers campaign started with a simple insight: by personifying everyday credit-damaging habits as mischievous characters, Credit One Bank can help normalise credit building and empower people with solutions. Max Out’s eyes are bigger than his wallet, Miss Payment often misses her monthly credit card payment, Cancelina keeps closing her unused credit cards and One Track Jack has only one type of credit.
Now, Credit One Bank is taking it one step further, letting the Wreckers loose on the streets of New York to wreak havoc all over the city. In the spirit of spooky season, New Yorkers will see the chaos of these not-so-friendly, monstrous Credit Wreckers–all cementing in an eventful IRL spooky installation that CRUSHES the Credit Wreckers.
“By bringing the Credit Wreckers to the streets and social feeds of New York City, we’ve brought to the surface common credit missteps that can happen to anyone, but no one talks about,” said Amber Greenwalt, SVP brand and advertising, Credit One. “These mischievous characters and their antics add some much-needed clarity, personality, and humour to a space that’s too often confusing and shame-filled–helping people avoid credit damaging habits and move forward with confidence. We love the Credit Wreckers because they reinforce Credit One Bank’s mission to help educate and empower people with knowledge to improve on their credit scores.”
The Warning. Starting on October 6th, mysterious posters appeared overnight on wild postings, bus shelters and in the subway. Social feeds will begin to fill with 'beware' signs and spotted sightings. The Credit Wreckers are out there and people are told to keep watch.
The Havoc. Suddenly, the Credit Wreckers were everywhere. New Yorkers found videos on their feeds that capture them scurrying in the subway, trashing property, and generally wreaking chaos. Native NYC creators and meme publishers liked Subway Creatures shared the havoc, making it feel like the whole city is in chaos. These cleverly created mixed reality films, created through a collaboration with Voidz, demonstrate the extent these credit damaging habits can go in harming your credit.
The Crush. It all builds to a dramatic out-of-home stunt where a towering billboard falls, crushing the Credit Wreckers beneath it. The unseen behaviours that quietly wreck people’s credit are made physical, public, and ultimately crushed. In addition to the IRL stunt, UGC content and partnerships with Overheard New York and Doing Thing Media to New Yorkers on social media, encouraging them to stop by and learn more about credit solutions from Credit One Bank.
“From the mixed-reality sighting to the final billboard crush, every beat of this campaign is designed to make the Credit Wreckers impossible to ignore,” said Ryan Lehr, co-chief creative officer, Deutsch. “These aren't just adorable characters - they’re fuzzy little reflections of our own bad habits. By turning credit mistakes into these funny, light-hearted personalities, we gave people a chance to recognise themselves with no shame. Whether they pop up in your feed or you stumble across them in SoHo, the Credit Wreckers are here to smash the stigma around credit scores - and kick the door of financial progress wide open.”
