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Perhaps no one in ad land has gotten as much attention this year-positive and negative-as Al, the tow-truck driver. The thirtysomething everyman made enough money trading stocks online with Discover Brokerage to retire and buy an island. "Technically, it's a country," he explains to the white-collar executive whose car he's towing.
The television spot, part of an ongoing campaign that IQ has chosen as the Best Offline Campaign for an Online Brand, also was named the Best Financial Services ad by the Financial Communications Society last month. At the same time, the Al ad has rankled Arthur Levitt, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, for being emblematic of "irresponsible" advertising by online brokerages, who Levitt claims promise too much without warning of potential risks. But to San Franciscobased Discover Brokerage, a Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. firm, and...