I REALLY hate that video professor guy. Doesn't he still sell "Learn windows 95!" cds?

The Video Professor guy isn't as annoying though as that woman who comes on in the whiny/ nasaly voice and says that her 3 1/2 year old daughter is better at using the computer than she is!

Is that before or after she used the courses?

video professor all the way, I would choke that dude to death if I had 5 minutes alone.

Holy shit, it's down the wire folks! This one's a nail biter! Who will be the first to fall and not have the ability to get up? Stay tuned!
I voted for Capital One, because they're a bunch of dicks that constantly send me auto loan offers even though they won't give me a credit limit of more than $500 and a shitty as hell APR.

I think VP "wins" here. Capital One has improved quite a bit recently, IMHO. They ended their predatory practice of not reporting credit limits, and they even sent me a letter asking to upgrade the features of my account for me. So I think C1 has actually made an effort to try to improve. I have to give them some credit for that.

Go video professor! I dont know if you have what it takes to go all the way, but I've got your back!

Capital one pissed me off enough to get me to cancel my card about 8 or 9 years ago, but I can't for the life of me remember what it was they did.

But Video Professor radiates dark waves of unmistakable sleaze.

As someone who does ads for a living, I have two problems with Capital One ads, besides the overall suck:

1) The ads focus so much on the problems, i.e. the blackout dates, high rates, that it's too easy to associate Capital One with the problem, not the solution. A good test with commercials is watching with the sound off - chances are, most people would think the vikings (or whateverthefuck) represents Capital One. I understand the message, but the first thing I think of when I hear "Capital One" is "Lame commercials, getting killed on high rates, blackout dates". It's easy to make jokes about the negatives, but it's a lot harder to express a product's benefits in a memorable, non-preachy way.

2) The tagline, "What's in your wallet?" is a classic "Don't" in copywriting. You shouldn't ask a question if there's a possibility that you won't like the answer, but hacky copywriters have been doing the question-as-tagline thing ever since "Got milk?" was a hit. The line says absolutely nothing about the product - it just makes me say, "Well, some cash, my ATM card, a couple of credit cards THAT AREN'T CAPITAL ONE, receipts, business cards...".

That said, I'm voting for the video professor.

I boychotted Capitalone for ages because of their annoying pop-up ads of long-ago. However, they really seem to have changed their attitude lately. I've noticed their annoying ad rate is way down and their really offer some unique services. Being in American in Australia they have saved me a lot of money in foreign conversion fees (since they are the only company that has NO foreign conversion fees).

Speaking of foreign conversion fees.. I recently needed to use my St. George Credit Union ATM card in America. I used a BoFA ATM.. 3.50 fee from BoFA.. from my bank so far $5 Overseas Withdrawal and $7 foreign conversion fee. Absolutely insane. Oddly enough, using my American card in Australia only incurs a $1 fee...

@z4ce: Yeah, I forgot about that one. That is another big redeeming feature of Capital One, and it's one reason I keep mine around (the other is that it's my oldest card on my credit history). They also seem to have gotten much less stingy about credit limits lately with non-subprime customers.

If you've EVER had to call Crapital One's customer service, the decision would be very clear to you. Being passed off to one incompetent rep after another, then transferred to the Spanish speaking line, then hung up on (elapsed time: 1 hour) is not awesome.

@spinachdip:

And yet, we all remember exactly which ads are Capital One ads. They're the annoying war-related ones that end with a "What's in your wallet?" We also all know Geico ads because of how much they suck. Therefore, it can't be nearly as bad as making a generic and forgettable ad based on rigorous "inside the box" (God.. I detest that type of saying as much as you probably detest Capital One and Geico ads) advertising strategies.

whoa this is a tough one, i voted VP though

@trujunglist: Well, yeah, I'm not saying do everything by the rules - quite the opposite.

And while name recognition is priceless, you also have to think about how the audience perceives your brand. Geico's advertising has done wonders for them, and bully for that, but they've also pidgenholed themselves as the low rent insurer.

I'm voting for Capital One. I'm tired of them wanting to know what's in my wallet. Why? Are they going to pick my pocket and want to know if it's worth it?

@trujunglist: Nope. I don't. Cable was cut off because I missed a payemnt, and Cablevision demands a 100+ dollar re-activation fee.

I've never been happier.

Cinderella???

Whoa, this is dead-heat.

Is it just me, or does it seem like this is more battle of which commercials and other misc advertisements suck more?

I have to vote for Capital One. They issued my daughter, who has terrible credit and no job a credit card a few months back. I'm sure they must have known, with her credit score and rating that she would never make the payments. So of course now she has late fees on top of late fees on top of an unpaid balance. Not saying it is their fault she is not paying her bill of course, but what the hell kind of business sense does it make to give someone a credit card when they have such bad credit?

America, no wonder we are on the road to ruin.

Capital One for sure. I've never heard of Video Professor but Capital One sends us two credit card offers a week. Like clockwork.

@valleyqueen: I've called them and they provided better service than my other credit card company.

@SkyeBlue: It could make great business sense if you can charge a high enough interest rate to make up for the customers that default. 29% interest will cover quite a few defaults...

@sburnap42: And you object to this so much why? You can opt out of all prescreened offers of credit. Not defending snail mail spam, but that's an easily solved problem if it bothers you.

Yikes this one IS close. Go VP!

The VP tactics against detractors was the deciding factor for me.

I'm sure capitalone screwed over many more people. But, Video Professor all the way. Those commercials are annoying.

@Moosehawk:
Nope, but they still offer Windows 98, and for that, they got my vote, if you're scared of using a computer, then you shouldn't be using one.

CapitalOne should just drop out of the race, already. There's no way it can overtake Video Professor in the delegate count. Wait... Oh, damn.

@telepheedian:

I think the people who would fall for video professor are the sort who would be buying computers at thrift stores. (and not because it's cool) Therefore Windows 98 makes sense.

OTOH, for what Video Professor will steal (yes, steal) from them, they could be buying new computers.

Capital One gets my vote. They can cause you much more damage than the Video Professor. Also, they bought out a New Orleans based bank just a couple of years ago. Now, they're laying off most of the employees at the former New Orleans headquarters. Screw the customers. Screw the employees. Screw America.

As stupid as Video Professor is, they can't even begin to dick people over on the level that Capital One can!

As bad a C1 is, they are a real company offering a legit service. VP is literally a con.

Eh, my C1 has always been good to me.

This was a tough one for me, because I haven't had a particularly bad experience with either. I've never used Video Professor, and although I have a CapOne card it's little used and I've never had an issue I needed them to resolve.

So I voted for Video Professor - that bit about them trying to get the identities of customers who complained about them was what pushed me over to their side.

I checked out the Infomercial Scams page ([www.infomercialscams.com]). It's unbelievable the kind of information they were requesting. And all because people wrote inane stuff like "I agreed to pay the $6.95 fee then I got hit with a $89 charge on my credit card."

Who do they think they are!?

Capital One is what it is -- a credit card company with a lot of downmarket customers. But VP's conduct is wreckless.

VP FTW!

Ever notice in the VP commercials that, towards the end, he says something like "try my product". Just an odd phrasing I think.

@pdxguy: Yes, and he sounds so sad when he says it too. You can hear the shame in his voice!

I have a personal history with capital one & really HATE them with a passion. Back in the day when I was not as consumer savvy.... I had a card through them. Even though I ALWAYS paid my bill on time every month, for some reason (at least 3-4 times a year) I would incure their $25 late fees. I believe this is because they have a special "processing facility" (in atlanta I think) that's sole purpose is to delay mailed payments before sending them off to the final payment processing place. This was just a theory I had long ago to explain why the bills I sent off way ahead of time didnt make it on time somehow.

There was also an issue when i went to cancell the card because of their late fee shenanigans. They kept keeping minute interest amounts on my card so they could keep me as a customer (tlking about like less than 3 dollars). I had to LITERALLY OVERPAY to get it to where they would finally cancell my account. The miserable bastards!

So, even though the video professor may be a tad bit more evil than the usual evilness of credit card companies..... i am going to vote for capital one.... I hold a special contemptuous place in my heart for them.

I think I'm just happy there's such a tight first round matchup.

@spinachdip: Commercials suck. You can say anything you want about Capital One's lame copywriting, but the best thing that has come to advertising in decades is the TiVo.

Capital One sucks. I frequently carry a small balance on my card, always pay on time and never go over my limit, they're bombarding me with home loan offers now that I'm looking to buy a house, and I have a 780 credit score... YET, for some reason, will NOT raise my card's credit limit over $700. WTF?

I can't even buy a new fridge for the house I'm planning to purchase with that limit. I have the cash to pay, but want the added benefits/protections of buying it with a credit card, and don't want to have to open a new card to do it. Looks like I may have no choice...

On the other hand, I've thought for years that Video Professor was a scam.

Capital One. For calling me non-stop every day,(multiple times) for months over a delinquent account owned by an old roommate. Even after I explained to them over and over that "For the last time, that guy doesn't f*cking live here anymore."

Now I get a collection agency calling me about the same thing day after day; they don't listen either.

Wow, this one is close. Now, as far as total capacity to do damage in the great scheme of things, Capital One might come out ahead, but I think GreatCaesarsGhost said it: "As bad a C1 is, they are a real company offering a legit service. VP is literally a con."

Capital One is actually working to provide a service, even if we may not always be satisfied with every aspect of the business. But Video Professor exists just to take your money. It's like the difference between [insert big bad company you don't like], and a lemonade stand where the kid spits in every cup and picks your pocket as you leave -- small scale, but no redeeming qualities at all. As far as percent rottenness, I think VP wins.

I voted for VP - I have no experiences with C1. I think it my vote for VP stems from the line in his commercials "Just buy my product." because of his desperate and irritating tone of voice. He looks like a guy who slurs at women and kicks his dog after he stumbles home drunk.

Voted for Crapital One... I have a card with them.

A year back, I applied for a secured card, where I had to put a deposit on it. Granted, I didd't have a credit history, and only had 1 other card open at that time (with my bank, and the limit was $500.00) I could see why they would charge me.

Fast forward 11 months later.. I now have 6 (yep thats right) 6 credit cards. That old card I had before Capital One, well now it's a gold card (Gold Cards in Canada, excluding Crapital one have to be a credit limit of $5k or higher), I have another US dollar card with a 5k limit, and 2 other gold cards from major banks.

What does Crapital do? Well they see I am not using my card, so they raise the limit to $1500.00 and dont want to budge on ever getting my security deposit back or getting rid of the damn annual fees! All my cards have 0.00 annual fee with the major banks, if Crapital wants to play, why dont they play fair!

Now I am getting purchasing checks every 2 weeks like clockwork... I am waiting until next month, thats when my 1 year anniversary with them is up and either they are changing my card to no annual fee and refunding my deposit, or I am cancelling

at least the video professor does not call me at home at least once or twice a day.

But you have to look at that mug on the tele.

Wow, as of my vote this is a dead tie!

I voted for VP. The problems with Capital One are mostly (though not all) down to employee incompetence. VP is 100% scammy and evil.

Wow. Still a tie by like 4 votes. Well, as I always say- in a toss up, always vote for the bank to be the big loser.

Finally, a close match. Even the winner will feel like a loser.

I voted Capital one cause I keep getting their spam mail. Actually, I like seeing I have mail, even if it is just dead trees Im throwing out in a second. I really voted Capital one just to make this poll dead even :D