Online stock brokers usually have pretty dull commercials but there is one company that has chosen to make their pitch a bit more interesting - E*Trade.
I don't have any statistics to be able to tell you how well these ads work but E*Trade has gone exclusively with these baby commercials since their debut during the 2008 Super Bowl. To me that surely means they must be working and I'll tell you why I think they do:
1) First of, all they are lighthearted, funny, and cute. You can't go wrong with that.
2) They make saving and investing look fun as the E*Trade baby is always upbeat and totally into his portfolio.
3) These commercials take the fear out of investing. If that baby can do it then so can you.
4) That baby and his friends are cool, hip, or whatever current day term you want to use. That makes the commercials cool and also makes E*Trade cool.
In reality, investing is a boring subject but these advertisements make it sound fun. Fast Company writes that in response to that first Super Bowl ad, E*Trade had more sign ups the next day than in any day prior in their history. These TV spots are memorable and that is good for the brand as long as people remember what the ads are selling.
E*Trade was one of the pioneers of online stock trading and they also have the most recognizable commercials on television. They also have a great trading platform which I use. Here is a video showing many of the E*Trade baby commercials that have become so popular.
BEST STOCK BROKER COMMERCIALS
OCCUPY WALL STREET IS NOT ABOUT STOCKS
Have you heard of the new social movement called Occupy Wall Street? Protests are spreading around the country and slowly making their way to many of the major cities. This movement is being fueled online through many of the social websites like Twitter and you probably will be hearing more and more about it in the news in the coming weeks.
You might be wondering what Occupy Wall Street is all about and what does it have to do with the stock market? Actually, it has little to do with stocks as it is a growing group of people who are disenfranchised, often out of work and in debt, and angry because they think corporate America is making millionaires of the few and leaving everyone else behind.
"Wall Street" is the business district of New York and for anyone who buys and sells stocks it also represents the stock market. While these protestors are angry at high corporate profits and injustices they think abound in the business world, their protests involve much more than the stock market. Like most protests, the majority of people marching are under 30 years old.
The Internet and sites like Facebook, Twitter, and others are becoming important ways people organize and we all saw how they played a big part in the protests in Egypt which were responsible for ousting Hosni Mubarak. Occupy Wall Street will probably fizzle out eventually but it shows how the bad economy, high education prices, low wages, corporate bailouts, corrupt politicians, and other perceived problems with today's society are affecting the minds of today's younger generations.
They are angry it is clear, but they aren't angry specifically at the stock market like the name might imply.
