February 1, 2013
The E*Trade Baby informs viewers that they could lose tens of thousands of dollars of their 401(k) money to hidden fees. He then shows you what kind of epic world party you could enjoy for that kind of money.
February 3, 2012
The E*TRADE Baby reassures a new dad about planning for his daughter’s future with E*TRADE Financial Consultants — and his friend Bobby stops by for an unexpected surprise visit.
February 1, 2012
Get ready for the Talking Baby’s 5th Super Bowl ad with the E*TRADE Baby’s Top 10 funniest moments of all time.
January 22, 2012
E*TRADE Financial Corp. announced that E*TRADE Securities LLC will return to the biggest advertising event of the year with a new Talking Baby commercial slated to debut during the NBC television network broadcast of Super Bowl XLVI on February 5, 2012. This marks the fifth anniversary of the iconic E*TRADE Baby campaign.
The Super Bowl spot, one of a series of new ads planned for 2012, features the E*TRADE Baby interacting with people facing special life events that trigger a need to consider financial planning.
The campaign was created by Grey New York, E*TRADE’s advertising agency of record since 2007.
To maximize the investment and reach of the Super Bowl ad before, during and after the game, the campaign’s online presence will include:
January 28, 2011
When it comes to the E*TRADE Baby, some moments don’t get past the censors. Take a look at the gems that didn’t make it into this year’s Big Game.
Mobile users can watch the video here.
January 20, 2011
Read More at: NYTimes
Super Bowl viewers are expecting to see — in addition to a football game — a batch of busy, glossy new commercials infused with time-tested entertainment elements like celebrities, animals, attractive young women and yes, babies.
Critics deride such content as corny or predictable. AdAge.com, the Web site of the trade publication Advertising Age, mocked conventions of Super Bowl advertising on Thursday by asking readers to “vote for your favorite Super Bowl simian spot” among eight choices.
But commercials that are replete with mainstays or memes are meant to appeal to the mass audience that tunes in each year for the Super Bowl. Last year, 106.5 million people watched the game, according to Nielsen, setting a record for viewership for an American television program.
“I’ve seen the estimates” for Super Bowl XLV, said Nick Utton, chief marketing officer at the New York office of the E*Trade Financial Group, “and 110 million is very definitely within reach.”
So it is not surprising that E*Trade, which has featured “talking” babies in its Super Bowl spots for the last three years, will bring the characters back again.
“We don’t presuppose each year we’ll be in the following year’s Super Bowl,” Mr. Utton said, because the expense and scrutiny mean “it’s not for the faint of heart.”
Still, the game is “the only event of the year where advertising is not the uninvited guest,” he added, and when “commercials come on, people stop talking.”
E*Trade intends to run one commercial in the third quarter of the game and another immediately after the game ends. Plans also call for a baby to “talk” with Fox Sports during a segment of the pregame show.
E*Trade and its agency, Grey New York, are deciding between two commercials for the two slots. One spot features a baby who does well enough investing through Etrade.com that he can afford a tailor — and the tailor is not doing too badly, either. The other spot presents “a very educated baby,” Mr. Utton said, “discussing the merits of E*Trade” with a character that he declined to identify until next week, when the cat may be let out of the bag.
October 25, 2010
E-Trade Financial Corp. will advertise in the Super Bowl again early next year. The spot will certainly feature a talking baby. The idea for its commercial, however, may not be one cooked up by E-Trade ad agency Grey Group.
The storyline for the spot could come from a pool of videographers who submitted 250 submissions for E-Trade and Grey through Poptent, a social network dedicated to crowdsourcing video content. Grey will produce any of the work chosen from the pool, says E-Trade Chief Marketing Officer Nick Utton.
Utton, who stresses he is “delighted” with Grey, tells me he decided to crowdsource ideas for E-Trade’s 2011 advertising campaign to make sure the financial services company has the “best advertising imaginable” going in to the new year. “If we can get some ideas from people as creative fodder, it would be helpful.”
Utton will evaluate ad ideas from Grey, a unit of WPP Group, along with those submitted by Poptent’s talent pool. Utton didn’t want to share any details from the crowdsourcing effort but I understand that one submitted features emus—animals in ads are sure-fire Super Bowl crowd pleasers. Another features Benny baby trying to get another to invest in a “Twitter for dogs.” ETrade will pay $15,000 to the best winning video. It will pay $10,000 each for two runner-up videos.
“We’re busy reviewing what we’ve got,” Utton says. “We’ve got a lot of great options.”
Poptent, based in Wynnewood, Pa., works with many big marketers, including Procter & Gamble, Anheuser-Busch and GE, which just paid $40,000 for four videos produced by the Poptent community. Typically, says Poptent president Neil Perry, marketers buy broadcast-ready spots for TV spots and Web videos. The company charges $35,000 for most assignments. They keep $25,000 and the remainder goes to creators of the best content.
The privately held company recently received $3 million from MK Capital.
Frito-Lay has used consumer-generated commercials during the Super Bowl for several years. This year it will run such ads for Pepsi Max and Doritos.
Utton wanted to keep submissions contained to a smaller group, citing the competitive market E-Trade is in. “Doritos, let’s be honest, is a snack food. Money is serious stuff. We use humor and yet…we are highly regulated.”
Grey is partnering with E-Trade in this effort. Utton says Grey is a great “generalist” ad shop. “Does Grey have the best mobile platform development for the Droid, RIM and Apple? No. That’s when E-Trade and others go out and buy specialist help.”
http://blogs.forbes.com/melaniewells/2010/10/25/etrade-super-bowl-advertising-crowdsource-grey-poptent-melanie-wells-forbes/
September 21, 2010
Lindsay Lohan ends $100M NYC suit over E-Trade baby ad; said she was butt of ‘milkaholic’ joke
NEW YORK (AP) — Lindsay Lohan’s $100 million lawsuit over an E-Trade television commercial is all over, baby.
A Manhattan court filing Monday said the actress has withdrawn her case against the brokerage, which she’d accused of making her the implied target of jokes about a “milkaholic” named Lindsay in a Super Bowl ad this year.
E-Trade Financial Corp. spokeswoman Susan Hickey said the case’s end reflected a “simple business decision” for the New York-based firm, but she wouldn’t discuss details. Lohan’s lawyer, Stephanie Ovadia, didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment.
The brokerage has put out a series of ads featuring adult-voiced babies talking about online trading. In the Super Bowl spot, a baby’s infant girlfriend asks suspiciously whether “that milkaholic Lindsay” has paid him a visit.
Another female baby pops into the picture and says in a woozy voice: “Milk-a-what?”
Lohan, 24, has had high-profile trouble with drinking and drug use. The “Mean Girls” and “Freaky Friday” star spent two weeks in jail in California this year for violating her probation in a 2007 case involving drug use and driving under the influence.
A Beverly Hills judge issued an arrest warrant for Lohan on Monday after the actress acknowledged failing a drug test. The warrant was stayed until a hearing Friday to determine whether she violated her probation.
Lohan’s lawyer said in court papers filed last month that the E-Trade commercial deliberately referred to Lohan.
“These babies in their commercials were symbolic and were not acting just as cute babies but were actually portraying (Lohan) and her grown-up friends,” Ovadia wrote.
E-Trade called Lohan’s claims meritless. Lawyers for the company noted in an April court filing that Lohan isn’t the world’s only Lindsay — or generally associated with online trading or banking.
“No reasonable person would connect (Lohan) with the E-Trade commercials,” they wrote.
via Lindsay Lohan ends NY lawsuit over E-Trade baby ad – Yahoo! Finance.
February 26, 2010
Most Super Bowl Ads Don’t Go Viral
Two Weeks After the Game, the Ads Drop Off the List, Replaced By Real Viral Campaigns
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — This week’s chart is a testament to the power of TV. Now that the Super Bowl is a fading memory, so are many of the Super Bowl ads, meaning TV was the key driver of their popularity, rather than a groundswell of demand on the web.
This week, only four ads from last week’s Bowl-dominated chart remain: Doritos, Snickers, E-Trade and Google, while a fifth Super Bowl ad, from Bud Light, joins the list for the first time. Doritos came in at No. 1 with an impressive 5 million views, even though that’s a 73% drop from last week. Gone are many of the ads that generated heat around the game, such as Audi’s “Green Police,” Tim Tebow’s Focus on the Family ad and Motorola’s Megan Fox ad.
But while ads from the big game fade, some of the more durable viral campaigns are returning to the list, a testament to their lasting power. It’s the difference between a surge in audience powered by marketing and exposure from a big event, and a sustained viral campaign, powered by social media and marketing.
Just look at who’s returned to the list: Evian’s rollerskating babies are back, of course, for their 31st week in the top 10. Also back are Microsoft’s “Project Natal” with 35 total weeks in the top 10, and DC Shoes’ “Gymkhana,” which has hung on for 34 weeks.
Old Spice’s “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” also made the list for the first time. It will be interesting to see if that ad has staying power, or if the humor starts to go stale.
Last Week Brand Campaign Agency Current Week Views* % Change in Views** Watch the Spot 1 1 Doritos Crash the Super Bowl 2010 Goodby, Silverstein & Partners 4,871,317 -73% 2 New Old Spice The Man Your Man Could Smell Like Wieden & Kennedy 1,660,063 New 3 2 E-Trade E-Trade Super Bowl 2010 Grey 1,378,361 -60% 4 Back on Chart Evian Live Young BETC Euro RSCG 1,232,441 Back on Chart 5 New Puma HardChorus Droga 5 762,436 New 6 3 Snickers Pick Up Game BBDO 737,857 -78% 7 7 Parisian Love In-house 649,998 -78% 8 New Bud Light Bud Light Super Bowl 2010 Cannonball; DDB; Palm + Havas; Momentum 547,043 New 9 Back on Chart DC Shoes Gymkhana Two Mad Media 425,267 Back on Chart 10 Back on Chart Microsoft Xbox Project Natal World Famous 411,585 Back on Chart *The Visible Measures Top 10 Viral Video Ad Campaigns Chart focuses on brand-driven viral video ads that appear on online-video-sharing destinations. Each campaign is measured on a True Reach basis, which includes viewership of both brand-syndicated video clips and viewer-driven social video placements. The data are compiled using the Visible Measures Viral Reach Database, a constantly growing repository of analytic data on more than 100 million internet videos across more than 150 video-sharing destinations.
Note: This analysis does not include Visible Measures’ paid-placement (i.e., overlays, pre-/mid-/post-roll) performance data or video views on private sites. This chart does not include movie trailers, video-game campaigns, TV show or media network promotions, or public service announcements. View-count results are incremental by week.
**Indicates percent change in views compared with the same period the week before.
To notify Visible Measures of an upcoming video ad campaign, or for an end-to-end assessment of your campaign’s overall performance, please contact Visible Measures directly.
February 5, 2010
Today, two new images from E*TRADE’s “Talking Baby” ads were released. They are keeping their ads secret until 5:30 on Super Bowl Sunday.
The first ad entitled “Girlfriend” has the popular character at home, in front of his computer with a shocked look on his face. The other ad called “First Class” has the Talking Baby aboard an airplane and appears to be taking the red-eye.
E*TRADE has also developed a social-networking tool. Babymail an application that lets folks create talking-baby messages to share at www.etradebabymail.com
February 2, 2010
Exclusive outtakes footage of the E*TRADE Baby and his buddies. Want to see more? Visit www.etrade.com/tv Be sure to send some babyMail too! at http://www.etradebabymail.com/
January 15, 2010
“Retirement – Laptop” spot premiers during the NFC divisional play offs on Saturday, January 16 on FOX at 4:30pm ET (Video: Business Wire)
January 15, 2010
“Lottery” spot premiers during the AFC divisional playoffs on Saturday, January 16 on CBS at 8:00pm ET (Video: Business Wire)
January 15, 2010
“Barbershop” spot premiers during the NFC divisional play offs on Saturday, January 16 on FOX at 4:30pm ET (Video: Business Wire)
January 23, 2009
NEW YORK (BUSINESS WIRE) — E*TRADE FINANCIAL Corp. (NASDAQ: ETFC) today announced a new 30-second advertisement featuring its “Talking Baby” will debut during Super Bowl(R) XLIII, airing on February 1, 2009. Returning to the Game for the third consecutive year signifies the considerable return on investment achieved by advertising during the Super Bowl. The acclaimed “Talking Baby” ad campaign(1), which premiered during Super Bowl(R) XLII, generated widespread attention and sizable momentum that resulted in double-digit percent growth in new brokerage accounts immediately following last year’s Game — and inspired viewers, admirers and customers to take part in what quickly evolved into an online and offline phenomenon well after the Game.
“History repeatedly has shown that those who continue to make smart marketing investments when economic times are uncertain are best positioned for success when the economy rebounds,” said Nicholas A. Utton, Chief Marketing Officer, E*TRADE FINANCIAL Corp. “That’s why, in this uncertain economic climate, reinforcing the strength of our brand and value proposition is critical. Our return to the Super Bowl signifies the strength of E*TRADE’s core business and the loyalty and growth potential of our customer base.”
To maximize the Super Bowl investment and appeal to a wide audience before and after the Game, E*TRADE is leveraging strategic social media channels. The “Talking Baby” personality will come to life on the Web in advance of the Super Bowl, building anticipation for the airing of the commercial. Starting today, E*TRADE’s branded channel on YouTube (www.youtube.com/etrade) will feature an irreverent outtakes video of Baby footage that didn’t make the cut for the final commercial. Consumers can learn more about the Baby on his Facebook(C) Page (www.facebook.com/home/php#/pages/ETRADE-Baby/45441344525) and on Twitter(C) (http://twitter.com/etradebaby).
With another large audience expected to tune in to the Super Bowl, E*TRADE’s marketing campaign is geared toward generating considerable attention before and following game day. The Company expects to continue to appeal to the mass audience while targeting new business growth for the core retail franchise.
Grey New York, E*TRADE’s advertising agency of record since 2007, will again create the campaign, which will be executed throughout the year on television, in print and online. The concept reinforces E*TRADE’s strength as a customer champion by highlighting the innovations that help liberate retail investors from old fashioned brokerages and banks. E*TRADE enables consumers to take control of their investments and savings in an uncertain economy — taking charge of their own financial destinies.
“The ‘Talking Baby’ campaign is an extremely effective component of our marketing strategy because it immediately engages viewers and hits home E*TRADE’s strengths to our target audience,” continued Utton. “We succeeded in creating something memorable that engages retail investors in a meaningful way through multiple channels, and more importantly, has produced significant return on investment.”
“E*TRADE has always flown in the face of traditional brokerages,” said Tor Myhren, Chief Creative Officer of Grey New York. “And this little, financially-savvy, street-wise baby has seemed to really tap a nerve with more independent investors. He shows that anyone can do it. Seeing how easy it is for him helps people overcome their fears of what they perceive as complicated technology.”
“Super Bowl” is a registered trademark of the NFL and is used here for factual purposes only. E*TRADE FINANCIAL Corp. and its affiliates are not affiliated with the Super Bowl or the National Football League.
YouTube is a trademark of Google Inc.
(1) #1 most viewed Super Bowl ad as measured by TiVo (C) (2008) #1 Super Bowl spot by Ad Age creative critic Bob Garfield (2008) One of the most viewed YouTube brand channels, with more than 2.5 million views to date
ABOUT E*TRADE FINANCIAL
The E*TRADE FINANCIAL family of companies provides financial services including trading, investing and banking for retail and institutional customers. Securities products and services are offered by E*TRADE Securities LLC (Member FINRA/SIPC). Bank products and services are offered by E*TRADE Bank, a Federal savings bank, Member FDIC, or its subsidiaries.
Important Notice
E*TRADE FINANCIAL, E*TRADE and the E*TRADE logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of E*TRADE FINANCIAL Corporation. The statements contained in this news release that are forward-looking are based on current expectations that are subject to a number of uncertainties and risks, and actual results may differ materially. The uncertainties and risks include, but are not limited to, changes in market activity, anticipated increases in the rate of new customer acquisition, the conversion of new visitors to the site to customers, the activity of customers and assets held at the institution, seasonality, macro trends of the economy in general and the residential real estate market, instability in the consumer credit markets and credit trends, rising mortgage interest rates, tighter mortgage lending guidelines across the industry, increased mortgage loan delinquency and default rates, portfolio growth, portfolio seasoning and resolution through collections, sales or charge-offs, the development and enhancement of products and services, competitive pressures (including price competition), system failures, economic and political conditions, changes in consumer behavior and the introduction of competing products having technological and/or other advantages. Further information about these risks and uncertainties can be found in the information included in the annual reports previously filed by E*TRADE FINANCIAL Corporation with the SEC on Form 10-K (including information under the caption “Risk Factors”) and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.
(C) 2009 E*TRADE FINANCIAL Corporation. All rights reserved.
SOURCE: E*TRADE FINANCIAL Corp.
E*TRADE FINANCIAL Media: Pam Erickson, 617-296-6080 pam.erickson@etrade.com or Investor Relations: Brett Goodman, 646-521-4406 brett.goodman@etrade.com
For full details on E Trade Financial Corp (ETFC) click here. E Trade Financial Corp (ETFC) has Short Term PowerRatings of 5. Details on E Trade Financial Corp (ETFC) Short Term PowerRatings is available at This Link.
