Experian is a Dublin-based "global information services company," a component of London's FTSE 100, even. In essence, Experian traffics in consumer data. Last week, it launched a new corporate identity, "A World of Insight," branding itself so as to convey its "dynamic growth, global reach and position as the global leader in providing information services."

But it's expecting a lot with this targeted-marketing jive. You see, Experian also owns LowerMyBills.com, making it responsible for possibly the internet's most notorious scorched-earth advertising campaign, lampooned last week on satire website The Onion -- Mortgage Market Collapse Threatens Nation's Banner Ad Industry.

Ho ho, classic stuff. Except that it's not quite a joke. As Doug McIntyre pointed out last month, big search engines like Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) are vulnerable to losing serious coin if these sacked subprime mortgage lenders and credit rating houses start tightening their ad budgets.

And it's hardly just the web's majors -- The Onion may be one of the few free-content sites that doesn't run these absurd ads. Take a quick look around BloggingStocks -- you won't have to hunt long to find the LowerMyBills.com perpetual dance team, or a LendingTree Flash animation or a jumpy Capital One (NYSE: COF) banner. Citing Nielsen/NetRatings, Doug points out that along with troubled lender Countrywide (NYSE: CFC), Experian, Capital One and Lending Tree are all among the internet's largest display and search advertisers.

Let's hope they never close the doors at the University of Phoenix -- we may all be out of work.