Scottrade beating up on another idiot broker

Online brokerage Scottrade gets kind of tipsy in its upcoming campaign from Boston agency Gearon Hoffman, for which, appropriately enough, former Anheuser-Busch chief creative officer Bob Lachky consulted as creative director. In the spots, which break tonight, a smarmy broker just keeps on pitching to clients who threaten to switch to Scottrade, even when he forgets their names and—in a highlight—whacks his nose against the front/back-seat dividing window of a posh limousine. To keep things from getting too goofy (this isn't a beer ad, it's about folks' money, after all), ultra-stiff company CEO and founder Rodger Riney provides a dull voice of reason at the end. So, Scottrade gets to have it both ways. It breaks out of the often-staid category mold with some humor, but keeps the robotic, zombiefied talking-head approach of financial service firms like Edward Jones and MFS (for lack of a better word) alive. Maybe Riney really is a robot. Check out that delivery: He could be. Plus, I hear he shuns humans and does all his investing online!

—Posted by David Gianatasio

January 7, 2010 in Finance, Gearon Hoffman, Gianatasio, Scottrade | Permalink