The financial services company E*TRADE has launched a new ad campaign, created by recently-appointed agency MullenLowe, introducing the slogan “Don’t Get Mad. Get E*TRADE”.
One of the spots, titled “Don’t Get Mad”, features a man who, after being prompted by his boss, begins to daydream about the spoils of modern wealth. The ad portrays a world where rich men have themselves painted onto grizzly bears, young women are driving expensive luxury convertibles and fly with private jets, couples living in huge mansions, with large pools, that throw wild parties, people that can indulge with all kind of weird and pricey hobbies, that have their pizza delivered by helicopter and start food fights, without worrying about anything around.
The epic absurdity finally culminates when the man decides to shrug off frustration and take financial matters into his own hands by logging onto E*TRADE.
The music used in the ad is the show tune “If I Were a Rich Man” from the 1964 musical Fiddler on the Roof. Written by Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock, the song is performed by Tevye, the main character in the musical, played by American actor and comedian Zero Mostel.
The company’s new campaign includes also other spots featuring scenarios in which ordinary people are or would be
frustrated by the wealth of others, such as the dumbest guy in high school getting his own yacht, their boss on a luxury boat, after a year of hard work for you, their broker wake boarding, and rich partygoers waking up at noon, by the pool.