BarNone (1-800-BarNone) was a

lead generation In marketing, lead generation () is the process of creating consumer interest or inquiry into the products or services of a business. A lead is the contact information and, in some cases, demographic information of a customer who is intereste ...

company based in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

. BarNone was founded in 1995, and was later purchased by the First Advantage Corporation in 2005 for their Dealer Services segment. They were later sold to Centrro, Inc. in August 2009. BarNone connected consumers seeking an

auto loan Car finance refers to the various financial products which allow someone to acquire a car, including car loans and leases. History Car financing started with the General Motors Acceptance Corporation circa World War 1. Car purchases T ...

with auto dealerships. Consumers were targeted through

direct mail Advertising mail, also known as direct mail (by its senders), junk mail (by its recipients), mailshot or admail (North America), letterbox drop or letterboxing (Australia), is the delivery of advertising material to recipients of postal mail. Th ...

, television ads, and

internet marketing The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a network of networks that consists of private, publ ...

. BarNone targeted consumers who typically have

bad credit A credit history is a record of a borrower's responsible repayment of debts. A credit report is a record of the borrower's credit history from a number of sources, including banks, credit card companies, collection agencies, and governments. A bo ...

that needed help with an

. In 2002, BarNone Inc. acquired rights to "adopt" the former Pets.com

sock puppet A sock puppet, sockpuppet, sock-puppet, or sock poppet is a puppet made from a sock or a similar garment. The puppeteer wears the sock on a hand and lower arm as if it were a glove, with the puppet's mouth being formed by the region between th ...

, portrayed by

Michael Ian Black Michael Ian Black ( né Schwartz; August 12, 1971) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He has starred in several TV comedy series, including ''The State'', '' Viva Variety'', '' Stella'', '' Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp'', ...

, in their advertisements, replacing

Fran Tarkenton Francis Asbury Tarkenton (born February 3, 1940), nicknamed "the Scrambler", is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He is wi ...

. BarNone's slogan was "Everyone Deserves A Second Chance."

Notes

External links

BarNone official web site

BarNone Dealer site

FADV Parent Company site
Marketing companies established in 1995 Companies based in Oakland, California {{US-company-stub