From spotting the first billboard with a URL on it to poking fun at Sun
Microsystems equating the network with a dog (just when World Wide Wait
was becoming a real problem), advertising has always held a soft spot in the
Netsurfer Focus heart. So here are the online brokerage ads that
caught our attention and a few that barely did.
These are arranged in alphabetical order, and you can access
their web sites by clicking on the logo.
Trading is for everyone
Ameritrade is the winner of the Netsurfer Focus Eyeballs
Award for Best Television Advertising by an Online Brokerage.
The overwhelming success of their ad campaign has also attracted
attention in other sectors of the press as well. For example,
TheStreet.com (subscribers only, free trial available)
features an interesting
piece on the details of the campaign.
Stuart
The scene opens on a neon-haired young man in a short-sleeved shirt
and tie (geek chic office style) photocopying his face. (You've done that now, haven't you?)
He is called into the boss's office - it turns out the boss has just opened
an online account at Ameritrade. As Stuart walks the boss through buying
100 shares of K-mart, the free research, ease of use, and low price - especially
compared with a traditional broker - are all illustrated through a conversation
soaked in cross-generation bonhomie. For example, Stuart eggs the boss to buy 500
shares instead of 100. When the latter firmly draws the line, Stuarts bursts out
in squawks and struts. Upshot: Stuart invites the boss to a party of his friends
on Saturday.
- "Stuart" is our hands-down favourite, funny, inventive, and rich with
throwaway details. It's a wild success if air time
on CNBC is any measure, and a must-see.
Market's Closing
Two 30-something women are out for a run when one realizes the (stock) market is closing.
They rush home, clearing a pair of rambunctious children from the computer
to log into Ameritrade.
She sells her shares in a small biotech company for - take that, Discover Brokerage! -
a $1700 profit. Quickly, easily, at low cost, of course.
Upshot: her friend confesses to a secret: owning mutual funds.
Again, an everyday people scene, with nice touches like the line about
the (super) market not closing till 9.30, or the son shooting Mom and her friend
with ping pong balls ("He's very gifted", says Mom).
Gen-X Twins
This spot is not as rich as the first two, simply featuring a pair of Gen X-aged
identical twins, talking about how easy and convenient it is to use Ameritrade.
It didn't get a lot of air time, and its slightly risque ending may also have had
something to do with it.
Says one twin,
"After a big trade, I just want to be held". Quirky, but we still liked it.
I dumped my playboy
This is one in a series of half a dozen or more short spots based on a play on the
name of a stock. The socialite on her way to a ball saying "I just dumped my
playboy for eight dollars" (the magazine). Cut to a deserted stairwell where she
comforts her ditzy playboy escort. Says she,
"I would never hurt your darling - unless I had to".
I got out of Dodge
The stereotype cowboy heaving his saddle and other paraphernalia
into his pickup truck
while explaining "I got out of Dodge for eight dollars" (the carmaker).
The spot oozes with macho.
Oh yeah, did we mention that some study once showed the Marlborough cowboy ads to be
the most successful campaign of all time?
Variations
Other variations include the racecar driver - "I shifted into Mercedes", business woman
- "I picked up the Tribune", tycoon - "I bought the planet", among others.
Simple, catchy, showing a broad spectrum of people using Ameritrade, and at
low transaction cost, of course.
Brown & Co. offers low price transactions for experienced investors.
All its ads are based on black-and-white animations featuring George
Brown himself
and in the style of the company's print campaign.
These are enlivened by an occasional splash of colour and a steady sense of humour.
The Audition
Various young investors stand onstage in the spotlight while George Brown,
in the back of a darkened auditorium, asks, "are you good enough
to trade with Brown & Co." because "we only take experienced investors".
Most are rejected, and George tells one pointedly to go
to Schwab instead.
The select club approach, while tried and true elsewhere, is certainly
different from the "come one come all" of the other brokers' campaigns.
Digging for Bargains
Brown is shown in a pit digging up nuggets of value as the voice-over describes
the various services and low fees offered by Brown & Co.
Spot ends in a colourful scene
of hell and a gleeful devil with pitchfork. "Oops, went a little too low."
I Need to Have My Head Examined
More cartoons of George's detached head getting the once over while a voice
explains the services and why prices can be so low.
Discover's ads, while entertaining, caught a bit of flack, including
some negative comments from the head of regulation for NASD, the
National Association of Security Dealers.
As of late April, these seem to have been replaced by a
gentler series made when parents Morgan Stanley and Dean Witter were
consummating their merger last year.
The Tow Truck Driver
A businessman whose car breaks down in the desert flags down a tow truck.
As he and the driver get to talking, he notices a photo of a Pacific island clipped
to the sun visor. Not only does the driver own the island, but it is a country unto itself.
The driver made his fortune by investing through Discover;
he drives the tow truck just because he likes to help people.
The Bartender
Two Wall Street types are at a bar and one asks for some nuts.
The bartender starts to say something, but is shot down by a healthy
flash of arrogance: the gentleman wants his nuts while he
watches the television news, and no interruptions, please.
The news anchor of course just happens to announce
that the bartender has bought some company in a multimillion dollar deal.
Bartender apologetically offers the nuts on the house.
The Deadhead
Young deadhead is standing on the streetcorner next to another self-important
businessman and tries to strike up a conversation. He explains he is also an
investor and uses Discover Brokerage. As the businessman turns away in disdain, a
chauffeured Rolls towing a yacht pulls up. Chauffeur apologizes profusely
about problems with a trailer hitch (on a Rolls?!) Deadhead offers the
chagrined businessman a ride.
Grandma
Grandmotherly type is knitting next to a fellow reading the Wall Street Journal
in the economy section of the plane (yes, you can always tell when it's cattle class).
She asks her neighbour if he is an investor and gets a cold shoulder.
Then the curtain to first class parts and a bemedalled dignitary comes over to
Grandma,
and thanks her for bailing out his country. Grandma says she's happy to
help. (Why, it's just like lending the new neighbour a cup of sugar.)
The fellow in the next seat squirms.
Grounded
The usual "kid comes home way after curfew" scene. His explanation to
an irate Dad? Having to drop off one friend in Cleveland and another in Miami.
The punishment? no Discover Brokerage for 2 weeks - and "get the helicopter
off the front lawn".
Now if only someone could explain why an 18 year old still has curfew.
E*Trade probably has the widest selection of ads of all the online brokers -
in line with their decision to forego profits in order to finance a
multimillion dollar advertising campaign.
Kudos are due their agency for coming up with some
of the best acting
in all the ads that we looked at. All the brokers came across as the perfect
epitome of slime, worthy of starring roles in the afternoon soaps.
Other less pointed spots are equally well-cast and crafted.
Golf Buddies
Two guys are playing golf. First one asks, "How's the broker biz?"
The other explains that his client made several thousand dollars in the
market and owed it all to him - not for good advice, just in commissions.
The first digests the information and next we see him, he is using E*Trade
and investing online for himself.
The Retirement Plan
Two men are talking about investments in a well-appointed office.
Asks the older one of the younger, "Do you have a retirement plan?"
The younger, with perfect self-absorption, responds with "Get rich, retire at 45".
"I'm 58", says the client. Cut to, you guessed it, the older gent
using E*Trade and then standing in an equally well-appointed motorboat.
Perfectly cast.
The House Investments Built
The spot shows a beautiful mansion, and the voice-over explains it is built by
your investments. As the camera approaches the front door, a
handsome and snooty couple slams it in your face - the house belongs to your broker.
All ends well, however, with using E*Trade and walking up to your own
mansion at the close.
Broker's Speed-Dial
Yet another smarmy broker has a long and frivolous conversation on the
phone while his client sits listening and waiting. In the process, she notices
that she is not on his speed dial list. So off to self-help through E*Trade and
ripping the broker's name from her own speed dial.
The Raise
Young man, all spiffed up, prepared, and dripping with earnesty, sits down with
his boss to ask for a raise. As he talks, the older man drifts off into a reverie
on the social structure of the multi-coloured jujubeans on his desk.
Message: want a raise? Get it for yourself by investing well with the help of E*Trade.
A Day in the Life of a Broker
Hapless, sad-sack broker struggles out of bed and through the morning commute
via jammed subways and elevators to fill his quota of cold calling.
Do you really want to trust your financial wellbeing to this guy?
Fidelity's ad campaign is all about different aspects of investing and the marke,t
and how the products Fidelity offers can help.
Being Informed
Comedienne Lily Tomlin is at a magazine rack gathering the endless publications
on investing and the market. (This is certainly a scene we identify with researching
our Focus financial issues.) Climbing to reach the upper shelves, she falls over and
lands at Peter Lynch's feet. As he helps her up, Tomlin explains that it's her job to
be informed. Perfect moment for Lynch to deliver some timely advice about how
Fidelity can help without reading every publication in the shop.
Upshot: Tomlin leaves the store and the scattered publications with a "just looking"
comment to the owner.
Got a Hot Tip?
Peter Lynch walks up to a teller window where Lily Tomlin promises to expedite a
lot of painful paperwork in exchange for a hot tip. Lynch, in his best geeky self,
explains the perils of chasing a hot tip. Tomlin, in her best Ernestine telephone
operator persona, slams the teller window shut.
The Stress Test
Peter Lynch gets on a treadmill for a stress test. As can be imagined,
the machine goes haywire, bouncing up and down, and the test technician (Tomlin)
loses her cool. Another golden opportunity for the unflappable Lynch to talk
about the many ups and downs that the market has experienced, and how Fidelity
can help you.
At the Bait Shop
This is one in a series of encounters between Lynch and comedian Don Rickles.
Lynch plays a steady refrain about retirement planning and IRAs and Rickles
counterpoints with curmudgeonly one-liners, about in-laws - "I've got money
sitting in places even my in-laws couldn't find", "their plan for retirement is to
hide my medication", airlines - "I travel so much the airline calls ahead to tell
me they've lost my luggage" and everyone in between.
Variations have the two meeting in Las Vegas and on an airplane. The background
changes, but the dialogue remains pretty much the same.
Girlfriends
Two women are at a coffee house talking about how they prefer to invest. One is
tapping on a laptop. She uses Oxford's online system while her fried
trades through to a live broker.
Lots of girl talk as each pokes gentle fun at the other's foibles.
Message: it's easy to trade with Oxford, either way.
Buddies
Variation on the same scenario, with two guys having the
guy version of the conversation.
Not all traditional brokers push FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt).
Merrill's recent ads emphasize the human factor and the family's financial needs.
Some spots are more memorable than others, and one of them is included below.
Merrill currently offers minimal online access to its customers, but
bought D.E. Shaw's online unit to beef up their offering.
But not fast enough: Schwab's market capitalization now exceeds that of
Merrill by about 50%.
Financial Planning
A couple sits with their planner talking about financial goals. As they go
through various scenarios (Ivy League education for their son, vineyard in
Tuscany, etc.) pictures of what their resulting home and lifestyle
(mansion, econobox, movie set "front") pop up in succession.
Message? Ask Merrill for help.
We don't think so. The wealth factor illustrated in the ad is quite beyond us,
but we wouldn't mind getting hold of their planner's multimedia software.
The Stuntman
This is a simple two scene spot, showing the day-time
activities of a stuntman taking all kinds of chances
jumping through flaming windows. Of course he does not take chances
with his money, and uses National Discount Brokers at night to
manage his investments.
Nobody mentions that stuntmen and women are highly trained
professionals who take far less chances with their stunts during
the day than those wild momentum traders that often inhabit online
brokerage services.
The Surgeon
Variation on the theme, where the surgeon "saves lives by day" and
makes a killing at night trading through NDB.
At the Soccer Game
The scene is a soccer game where parents and family are watching from
the sidelines. We hear their thoughts. A mother is concerned her daughter wants
to go to college in Hawaii. Others worry about variations on the theme. We hear from
a border collie about a dropped pretzel for added atmospherics.
Pan to a fellow with a smug smile, from whom we hear the tag line,
"Thank you, PaineWebber".
Bicycle Trip
More of the same: pack of middle-aged cyclists grinding up the hill
and thinking worried thoughts about their financial future, interspersed
with random bon mots such as "Titanium bikes are overrated".
The fellow bringing up the rear repeats the tag line.
Commuter Train
More crowd scenes with a cacophony of fearful thoughts and worries.
The one tranquil voice we hear, of course, counts on PaineWebber.
At the Airport
Ditto.
It's interesting that we don't actually remember much detail
about what the crowds were stewing about. Is it a measure of the ad's success
that we can't - out of a heap of amorphous fear, only the tag line shines through?
Well, if so, then why do the parts about the pretzel and titanium bike seem
so memorable?
The Quick and Reilly ads are one of those that tout their position in
one of the online broker ratings. In this case, number one on Smart Money's
list. Do we remember the rest of the ad? No. They seem to be a bit of
a blur about feature/functions, busy screens, and non-descript colors.
But maybe it's enough that we remember their number one claim. Another
in the school of "don't get nailed on the details, just hammer home the message".
The Worried Airline Captain
The fear factor stars in this segment as we hear the worries running
around in the head of the airline captain while his copilot vainly tries to catch
his attention for the landing. Message: Schwab has the products
and services to help. Not that different from Fidelity's message, just borrowing
a leaf from PaineWebber's book of fear, and
not following through with a well-crafted delivery.
The Worried Surgeon
More of the same, but it's the surgeon operating on a patient this time.
Okay, the actors try hard, almost going cross eyed with effort.
Interview with Charles Schwab
The spot shows Mr. Schwab's telegenic face as he talks about how easy
it is to use Schwab's offerings to manage his accounts and those of his relatives.
He is charming, so this ad beats the ones that simply
show the product and state the facts.
Interview with a Couple
Couple being interviewed basically talks about wanting to have time
for other things in life and so they are using Schwab's advisor services.
It's easy
This features owner Muriel Siebert, the first woman to hold a seat on
the New York Stock Exchange, talking about how easy it is to use
SiebertNet, their online trading service. A simple, informative message,
highlighted by the immortal line "I wasn't born with a mouse in my hand".
We 'fess to being admirers of the lady, who wasn't born with a
silver spoon in her mouth either.
MobileBroker
Another information-oriented ad, extolling the features and convenience
of Siebert's two-way pager-based trading service, a complement to the
online and broker-assisted capabilities. Like most ads used by the
smaller brokers, this features product shots and a simple voice-over.
But at least it's not a "me-too" product.
...we're not sure. Suretrade's ads feature
a background scene and a droning voiceover. There is a sense of impending
doom as you hear about being all alone when you are about
to pull the trigger. Shades of The Sniper's Tale. That's all we remember.
If there is a a subliminal message in the package, but we don't think it has much to
do with warm fuzzies.
Going Nova?
The background might be a sun, that brightens (explodes?) towards
the end of the spot.
In the Beehive?
Are these a bunch of bees running around in a hive? Or flies
around a carcass?
Note: As we went to press, Suretrade came out with a new ad
with the tag line "Smart Tools for Smart People".
Waterhouse Securities is a subsidiary of the Canadian bank Toronto
Dominion, and does not get the attention and mindshare commensurate
with its share of the online brokerage business. So we have to wonder
whether the underdog element in this ad is pure coincidence or wry
acknowledgement.
At the Vet
Man and non-descript small dog are waiting in the vet's office.
The man reads Smart Money magazine and its favourable rating
of Waterhouse Securities. The dog gets into a face-off with a large
Great Dane. Finally doggy barks and the Great Dane jumps into the
lap of its surprised owner. Clear message: we got a lot more than the big guys.
