Using the dark humor of previous Alliance advertising, which focused on the plight of people who failed to prepare themselves financially, “Investors Behaving Badly" pushes into territory that new Alliance research suggests is particularly relevant today. With tongue firmly planted in cheek, the campaign depicts what can happen when people with the best of intentions, but without the benefit of guidance and counsel from a professional financial advisor, invest everything (or nearly everything) they have, and lose it.
· “Med School" presents a euphoric college age student bursting into the kitchen and shouting that he was accepted at medical school, but his parents burst his bubble with the news that they have lost their college fund while day trading. “I thought it’d be fun!” says Dad ruefully.
· "Powerwalking" depicts a couple in their 60s energetically powerwalking. One walker gushes "I feel like I’m 18 again!” and her husband responds "Yeah, me too. You’d think I’d feel awful after blowing all our retirement money…"
· "Restaurant" opens as a father confides in his married son – in an elegant restaurant setting – that the stock he picked by himself cratered, and that he needs a loan. The son cheerfully refuses to provide one, saying "We don’t want to end up in the poorhouse like you…"
· "Kid’s Room" portrays two parents barging into their son’s room with the news that they have rented out half his room to "Frogger," a college student, because their self-managed investments have failed. "We thought we’d try investing on our own," they chuckle…
"In an environment where individual investors are bombarded with ads dangling promises of easy riches and lured into complacency by the bull market, we would like to emphasize that managing a retirement portfolio successfully over many years is a difficult task best left to the experts,” said John Carifa, President of Alliance Capital. “A professional advisor can help with goal setting, risk tolerance assessment, asset allocation, long term estate planning, and simply providing peace of mind in times of market turmoil. An advisor is indispensable in guiding a successful long-term investment strategy."
"The humor of this new campaign emanates from the often bizarre behavior of ordinary people thrust into extraordinary and near tragic financial situations," said John Ferrell, President & Chief Creative Officer of FERRELLCALVILLO Communications, Inc., the communications company that developed the campaign for Alliance. "These unfortunate souls engage in denial, refusing to admit to anyone – even themselves – that anything is seriously wrong; their lighthearted manner, as they attempt to explain to others where the money has gone; and the casual, off-handed way that they present to their closest family members – with the most positive possible spin – the surprising and off-the-wall consequences of having lost the money. All of these elements strike a nerve, make the point and provide the entertainment value in the new campaign."
Proprietary research conducted for Alliance Capital is responsible for the evolution of the firm’s multiple-award winning advertising effort. This research, conducted by Harris Interactive, first revealed in 1996 that a vast majority of American citizens greatly underestimated the amount they would need to have to retire successfully. Alliance Capital’s ad campaigns subsequently pursued themes showing the consequences of failing to prepare and encouraging immediate corrective action. More recently, the firm’s approach in the four new commercials for 2000 was affirmed through an Alliance Capital/Harris poll (conducted in November 1999 with a nationwide sample of 1008 Americans) which directly refuted the popular idea that increased online sophistication leads to a greater desire to “go it alone.” On the contrary, the poll found that respondents who describe themselves as “heavy” internet users are 50% more likely to use professional advice than the general population.
About the Director
All four commercials were directed by Brad Silberling, award winning director of the hit television series "NYPD Blue" and the feature films, "City of Angels" and "Casper." The production company was Creative Film Management.
About Alliance Capital
Alliance Capital is a leading global investment management firm with over US$368 billion under management. Alliance Capital manages retirement assets for many of the largest U.S. public and private employee benefit plans (including 31 of the U.S.’s Fortune 100 companies,) for public employee retirement funds in 31 out of the 50 U.S. states, and for foundations, endowments, banks, and insurance companies worldwide. Alliance Capital is also one of America’s largest mutual fund sponsors, with a diverse family of fund portfolios and approximately 4.5 million shareholder accounts. Alliance Capital Management Holding L.P. [NYSE: AC] owns approximately 42% of units representing beneficial ownership of limited partnership interests in Alliance Capital.
About FERRELLCALVILLO Communications, Inc.
FERRELLCALVILLO (“FCC”) is a communications firm which provides consultative planning, advertising development and multimedia implementation for the purpose of managing perceptions. Through the use of proprietary protocols, FCC assists clients in gaining new and deeper insights into themselves, their products, markets and competition; in developing and implementing innovative, results-oriented business plans and integrated communications strategies. FCC is a member of the Veritas Group, Ltd., a close-knit family of corporate, marketing and political communications firms. These companies, all owned by Veritas, partner with clients to find intelligent and creative means to seize business opportunities.