• by Tanya Gazdik , May 9, 2013

LendingTree is launching an ad campaign featuring a friendly green spokespuppet named Lenny.

The campaign will run nationally across all marketing channels, including television, radio, print, online, direct marketing and social media. It is the first work from the financial service company’s new agency of record, Merkley+Partners in New York.

The campaign addresses the breadth of LendingTree services and is built around the core proposition of LendingTree, which is to empower borrowers to make smarter financial decisions.

With record low interest rates and an improving housing market, consumer interest in mortgage financing is flourishing. However, Lending Tree reserach shows there is an enormous amount of anxiety and uncertainty associated with getting a mortgage, said Gabe Dalporto, LendingTree CMO.

"This campaign was born out of that insight,” Dalporto said in a release. “It builds on LendingTree's pro-consumer brand heritage by demonstrating how consumers can have more control in the mortgage process and redress the balance of power with banks."

The first TV spot in the effort broke Monday with more commercials planned to be introduced in the coming months

In the first spot, "Bank Speak," which broke Monday night, the spokespuppet, "Lenny," is a friend to Len, his human counterpart. As both sit before the desk of a bank-loan officer, Lenny cries "BS" after the lender tells them they "won't find a better offer anywhere."

"Ohhhhh," groans Lenny. "I smell BS." He then raises his voice to ask, "Hey, does anyone else here smell BS?" Lenny explains that he's talking about "bank speak," before murmuring (in reference to the lender), "And frankly, he's full of it."

The Muppet-like sidekick is a product of Jim Henson's Creature Shop. A second spot, "Boxers," in which Lenny gets a mortgage without even putting on pants breaks May 13.