Look Who's Talking Finances

Talking babies? Ok, I’ll admit that this isn’t the most novel concept the world of media has yet to explore, but what it IS, is an ingenious branding strategy that employs the face of an infant as the voice of a not so child-friendly commodity. I adore the sarcasm of these commercials and the babies are so G-darn cute, that I can’t help but shush everyone around me when one of these commercials pops up on the TV. But the clever wit and “aww” inducing factors aside, these ads have a powerful effect on their viewers yet remain subtle in their delivery.

First off, we all know that the country’s economy is far from peachy keen and that there are a lot of people out there who are extremely worried and in many cases, downright scared about their financial statuses. We don’t necessarily LIKE talking about money, 401(k)s, investments, stocks, blah blah blah…..it can be scary and overwhelming and things that make us uneasy aren’t typically what we want to address. Yet, here is this smartass baby on the TV telling us to stop being such a “Shankapotamus” and get ourselves on ETrade. It’s funny. I know you laughed too. It sheds a humorous light on the dark situation and disarms us, allowing us to be more receptive to trying their service.

Secondly, it forces us (even if only subconsciously) to take a step back and analyze the accuracy of a Marxist vision of the world. This is an infant on the TV controlling the money, not some fat cat or power suit sitting at the control panel of our fate laughing maniacally. Even further, this baby is demonstrating that by using their service, you are no longer just an irrelevant piece of the nation’s “superstructure” or a product of someone else’s base. You yourself are put in the power seat and are given the means to control your own base.

So ETrade, bring on the Milk-a-holics (Milk-a-whaa?) and the babies that mistake the pilot’s voice for that of their father’s (Daaad?!), because I have my DVR geared up and ready to go.