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Ogilvy & Mather replace iconic E-Trade baby with Kevin Spacey

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Last month it was announced that online brokerage firm 'E-Trade' were retiring their now legendary talking baby commercials, which have been mainstays on American television since they first aired during the Super Bowl commercials back in 2008. Ogilvy & Mather have usurped Grey New York as the firms advertising agency partners, and they have decided to take the ads in a more 'mature direction' (pardon the pun), by instead focusing their advertising pitch on House of Cards and The Usual Suspects actor, Kevin Spacey.

Ogilvy & Mather have usurped Grey New York as the firms advertising agency partners, and they have decided to take the ads in a more 'mature direction'

The new campaign will focus not on an arrogant infant, but on what company feels embodies the so-called 'Type-E' customer; “Self directed, independent, irreverent and confident investors.” Spacey plays a 'Talent Scout', casually tapping Type E customers on their shoulders, letting them know they should invest with E-Trade. Spacey is currently riding high on the success of the hit Netflix series, so his stock has never been higher, and Liza Landsmen, the chief marketing officer at E-Trade, believes Spacey is the right person to bring the new character to life because he's “Smart, witty, and has a very modern sensibility.” She believed the baby ads (whilst popular), were “Reflective of the past,” and that whilst the baby was “A wonderful, iconic expression” of where they were, “Consumers have recognised investing is complex and hard work,” and this is something they hope to put across more accurately with the Spacey campaign.

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Ogilvy & Mather' global managing director Russ Messner agrees. He says that the baby campaign “Was built on the idea that online trading is so easy a baby could do it,” but feels the world has moved on now, with people more comfortable making financial transactions online, so he felt it was “Time to evolve, while maintaining the tone and tenor E-Trade has in the marketplace.” he says the agency learned from “Extensive research” that the brand's customers (and prospective customers) actively enjoy the journey of becoming a better investor and identifying as a “Type E,” hence the focus of the campaign.

The Spacey spot will air around mid to late April

The campaign is engineered to appeal primarily to investors who want help planning for their retirement, and is the first step is what CEO Paul Idzik calls the company's more “Scientific approach” to marketing. In other words; analysing the needs, wants and preferences of their core customers and potential customers and making sure the message appeals to them. It's worth noting that the talking baby ad was only ever supposed to be a one-off, but it proved so popular that it quickly became the company's mascot.

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With Ogilvy & Mather and Kevin Spacey on board now however, it's almost a dead cert that E-Trade will be able to emerge from the shadow of the petulant pipsqueak, who Landsman admitted was in danger of “Eating the brand.” The Spacey spot will air around mid to late April, but the first part of the campaign (an 'Epic Musical', which shows professionals from various industries making delightful fools out of themselves) broke over the weekend.

Official Ogilvy & Mather Website

Official E-Trade Website

Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer from the UK who finished the entire second season of House of Cards in a single marathon weekend and doesn't regret it for a second!

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