One of the most ingenious television commercials of all time teaches people how creative marketing influences other people. The E*TRADE baby commercial, just 32 seconds long, was a smashing success. Does every word count? You bet it does. Just look at the dialogue:
Ah…This is weak man. Frank is trying to not pay me my winnings for the Skins beat down I just issued him just cause his 401K is tanking.
It’s like, dude, you gotta GRAB THE REINS man!
- Get E*TRADE.
- Do some analytics.
- Do some research and TAKE CHARGE so I don’t have to subsidize your lack of golfing skills.
“Nnnna. Nittel. You moved your ball!”
“Frank. It was on the cart path. Why don’t you try reading the rules. Shankapotomus!”
- Take control with one of the most powerful investing machines there is.
- Join the thousand new accounts a day at E*TRADE.
Dialogue Analysis
The first sentence, “Ah…This is weak man,” uses a phrase you’ve heard thousands of times so you can easily picture someone saying this.
The second sentence, “Frank is trying to not pay me my winnings for the Skins beat down I just issued him just cause his 401K is tanking,” pulls you in and makes you feel a sense of loss and you identify with times that you have been cheated out of what was coming to you. It also elevates the authority of the baby which of course is absurd, making it funny.
The reference to the Skins Game is not by accident either. There is a yearly game for professional golfers that is unique, exclusive and rare. The player with the best score at one hole, will win money. Each hole has it’s own monetary value assigned to it, with the 18th hole winner being awarded $200,000.
The third sentence, “It’s like, dude, you gotta GRAB THE REINS man!” gives you a direct call to action. He’s taking charge and telling him what to do. Didn’t we spend the first eighteen years of our lives listening to people telling us what to do? We remember this feeling easily. This adds to the humor and irony of a reversal of roles i.e. the baby acting like an adult.
The fourth sentence, “Get E*TRADE. Do some analytics. Do some research and TAKE CHARGE so I don’t have to subsidize your lack of golfing skills,” gives three directives. Three is about the number of things a person can absorb in a short period of time. Remember your mother saying, “I’ll give you to the count of three to stop that. ONE, TWO, THREEEEEE!” Or how about Goldilocks and the THREE Bears or The THREE Little Pigs? Three was used for a good reason.
It also points out what losses will occur if you don’t follow these simple instructions. Someone will have to help you out because you were so dumb. Who wants that?
In the next few sentences, you hear a dialogue that is commonly heard when kids are fighting with each other. You did this. No you did that! Why you….blankity blank blank! Whaa Whaa Whaa. Something that happens on an hourly basis in many homes with young children. You remember these exact words coming from your lips. Then a gentle reminder of your complete stupidity with the shameful scolding of “Why don’t you read the rules!”
The name calling then closes the deal with heroic magnitude. You Shankapotomus… is like the frosting on the cake. Now the baby has officially achieved hero status. He creates a new word that no one has ever heard before and conquers the very man that was trying to cheat him out of what he really deserved. All is well in drama land. Triumph!
The next sentence, “Take control with one of the most powerful investing machines there is,” tells you what to do and reminds you how smart the action is because…well, nothing is really better. It’s a Superman statement. So now, you get to be like Superman!
The closing sentence, “Join the thousand new accounts a day at E*TRADE,” tells you that you too can join a crowd of thousands. Now how difficult is that?
Movie Analysis
The two characters in this movie are both extremely lovable. Babies bond with us immediately. They have no set of requirements for loving someone other than you need to be breathing, warm and able to hold them. The older man is on the other side of life. At the completely the opposite stage in anyone’s time line. He is enjoying life by playing golf, which is a sport that has been played by millions since the 15th century.
Using a baby in this campaign makes us feel that if even a baby can do this, it must be pretty simple. Yes. I can do this too!
So the two lovable characters then take on qualities that you weren’t expecting. Something surprising occurs. Your predictions of what is possible for a baby have been shaken momentarily and that is what gets your attention. Now you wonder. Getting you to wonder makes you pay attention to the message. It challenges your belief in the way the world works. Now you pay particularly close attention to what on earth the baby could be telling you. You are listening.
Your Challenge – What can you do with 32 seconds?
No matter what business you are in, you all have potential customers. What exactly are you doing to get their attention? Are you following the Six Principals of Influence that Dr. Cialdini teaches?
- Reciprocation – Be the first to give
- Scarcity – Emphasize scarcity and uniqueness
- Authority – Admit weaknesses first
- Consistency – Following through with existing commitments
- Liking – Uncover areas of similarity
- Consensus – Show responses of others in testimonials
Take action today and do something different with your business strategies. See if you get results with what you have learned from the Shankapotomus E*TRADE baby commercial.
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