Wall Street brokers rejected in ads

NEW YORK -- Wall Street and Madison Avenue never cross -- in New York City, it's geographically impossible. On television, however, the two boulevards intersect constantly, and the result can sometimes be a rubberneck's delight.\nIn this case, the victim at the scene of any resulting accident would seem to be the venerable Wall Street broker. \nYears ago, financial workers were venerated in ads. Well-to-do people in restaurants and town squares would shush themselves in a flash to glean any bit of advice from someone whose broker worked at E.F. Hutton. When celebrated actor John Houseman told consumers how Smith Barney made money "the old-fashioned way," well, it almost made one proud to be a banker. \nYou've come a long way, baby. \n"The public's skepticism with the whole financial services industry is at an all-time high," said Ken Bernhardt, a marketing professor at Georgia State University. How long financial marketers capitalize on such feelings "will depend upon what kind of response they get in the marketplace," he added. \nThe latest assault on Wall Street's integrity comes from a series of ads promoting Charles Schwab Corp. The commercials, which have run since May, poke brokerage-house workers in the ribs so many times that its a wonder any of them can still breathe. \n"I'm looking at your portfolio," says one broker on the phone in one of the ads as he scans a Chinese-food menu. "You've got to buy." Another broker echoes the sentiment, telling a prospective stock investor that "I'm for picking. I'm for buying." When one member of the crew mistakenly utters the word "sell," the floor grows as quiet as the crowd in one of those old E.F. Hutton spots. \nIn a separate commercial, a bus filled with commuters mulls over the fact that all of them got the same so-called "hot tip" from their individual brokers. \nThe most damning example comes from a third ad, in which a senior manager commands his staff to "tell your clients this one is red hot. This one is 'en fuego.' Just don't mention the fundamentals. They stink." \nIn recent years, brokers have been cast as everything from useless to hopelessly old-fashioned. Dot-com era ads from Ameritrade Holding Corp., in which redheaded office boy Stuart cajoled fuddy-duddies to buy stocks online, seemed to say that Wall Street could only get in your way. \nAs the economy became more fragile and the markets more volatile, however, financial services firms took on a hand-holding tone, urging investors to allow the firms to guide them through stormy weather to sunshine. \nFinance mavens like TD Waterhouse Group Inc., MassMutual's Oppenheimer Funds and Stillwell Financial Inc.'s Janus Capital mutual funds portrayed themselves as rock-solid entities that could help investors make it through the rain. \nA heartwarming ad series from Morgan Stanley has financial professionals talk about their emotional interaction with customers, even going so far as to put up a business card on screen as the commercial concludes. The tagline? "One client at a time." \nOf course, some caution against reading too much into the Schwab ads -- including the folks at Schwab. \nThe San Francisco broker has always portrayed itself as "a different kind of company," says Peter DeLuca, the company's senior vice president of brand advertising. \nYet, Schwab may once have found itself in the very same place as those entities it now lampoons. The company made its name as a discount broker and online trader. These days, Schwab sees itself as something decidedly different. "We're not one of the other guys," says DeLuca. \nStill, tough times have some wondering if it's wise for any financial firm to make a marketing move. \n"Is it a good idea for these firms to be advertising now?" asks Paul Argenti, a professor of management and corporate communications at Dartmouth University's Tuck School of Business. "If you look at how people are looking at business, it's probably not a good time to be trying to build your reputation and credibility in the financial services sector." \nAlso risky for Schwab is positioning itself against Wall Street's broader business, Argenti adds. \nBesides, maybe this is just what it is -- a single broker's ad, nothing more. \n"It's an oversimplification to view this as a view of Madison Avenue," notes Gerri Leder, a Baltimore-based marketing consultant who once handled such duties for both Legg Mason Wood Walker and the former Alex. Brown. \nWhatever the intentions behind it, Schwab's recent blitz breaks taboos, and may stand the test of time because it does. Usually, says Argenti, companies in general ought to "remain above the fray" in commercials. \nIn this case, however, says Bernhardt, the marketing professor, Schwab is "negative on others, but ends up with a positive message." \nThe ad "may acceptably violate the principle of not being negative." One small step for Schwab, one big step backward for Wall Street workers who haven't gotten in step with the new swing of things.