E*Trade wants you to funnel your frustrations into your brokerage account
Online trading platform E*TRADE (ETFC) just unveiled a bunch of commercials with an “everyone can do it” message.
The new ad campaign called “Don’t get mad. Get E*TRADE” debuted on Monday as part of the company’s “reinvigorated brand identity.”
“Ever since we helped pioneer the category over thirty years ago, consumers have benefited from dramatic improvements to investing choices and digital tools,” E*TRADE’s head of marking Lea Stendahl said in a statement.
“But consumers still express a tangible frustration with their personal finances—particularly in a culture where wealth and success are often measured together, and we’re bombarded by images of over-the-top affluence. In this campaign, we acknowledge these everyday frustrations, and encourage consumers to channel them into positive action. It’s an invitation to step off the sidelines and take control of their own financial destiny.”
One of the spots includes “the dumbest guy in high school” partying it up with models and bottles.
“Remember that guy who wore a puka shell necklace everyday of junior year? Well, that guy just got a 102-foot yacht. Don’t get mad. Get E*TRADE.”
Another features a man cramped in coach class on a flight yearning for a first-class seat.
“First class is there to remind you you’re not in first class,” the ad concludes.
As Stendahl said, the ads encourage consumers to channel their frustrations into their brokerage accounts.
“E*TRADE is the original home for online trading and we continue to democratize investing,” CEO Karl Roessner said in a statement. “We are excited to reintroduce our brand as we strive to reclaim our position as the undisputed home for digitally inclined traders and investors. How we engage with these audiences is crucial to our success, and we are thrilled to get back to our irreverent, challenger-brand roots.”
All of this is sure to generate a lot of buzz and discourse as folks unpack and critique the implications of exploiting these emotional triggers to encourage trading.
The campaign can be seen in online videos, TV commercials, print ads, and social media. It was put together by Boston-based ad agency MullenLowe.
Julia La Roche is a finance reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter.