Make me a million

I'm working from home this morning, and the cable news channel is crammed with E*Trade ads along the lines of this one:

It just occurred to me how odd it is to see ads in the style of the late 1990's "Make a fortune in the stock market with [insert financial services firm here". The Dow is in the doldrums, and more to the point, you would think that people would be tired of get-rich-quick schemes based on rising asset prices. But perhaps they never do.

Comments

"...,you would think that people would be tired of get-rich-quick schemes..."

Why? Many don't tire of get-rich-quick schemes based on absolutely nothing - state "education" lotteries.

I find the combination of state lottery marketing and state-provided info regarding treatment for gambling addiction amusing, at the very least.

Posted by Ed Reid | February 25, 2008 1:07 PM

There's a sucker born every minute.

Posted by Peter | February 25, 2008 1:09 PM

Bubbles come along periodically, as people forget the last one and new people come along that weren't paying attention 'way back then'. They'll need to come up with a good story/excuse (the internet changes everything, the end of the business cycle, Asian family values, we're Japanese, the space age, radio or whatever) to really get things going. But it has been long enough since the internet bubble that we're ready for another one. It's just a matter of time and the right excuse.

Posted by Ann | February 25, 2008 1:47 PM

"But it has been long enough since the internet bubble that we're ready for another one."

You must be a Vanguard indexer to have completely missed the boom that has been going on for most of this decade (commodities) and the new one that is in its early phase (green tech). Cheerleaders for both of these booms (particularly commodities) have the same confidence that things are different this time. I am bullish on oil for the near term (I've done well with BPT, for example), but anyone who thinks oil prices will only go up indefinitely is ignorant of both history and current events.

Posted by Fred | February 25, 2008 2:11 PM

Could it be that this is more representative of the recent E-trade bankruptcy than a broader advertising trend?

Broker marketing is always about getting people to trade or turnover their portfolios as much as possible -- for any reason they think can be swallowed.

If one thinks this a bad time for that kind of marketing strategy...well, one might perhaps simply be unsurprised that E-trade fell behind its online discount brokerage competitors. Indeed, one might short E-trade. :)

Just sayin' -- one data point and perhaps not indicative of anything other than poor judgement or desperate strategy.

Posted by anon | February 25, 2008 2:18 PM

That ad didn't look all that get quick rich to it, it just said that joining the capitalist class is easy to do, a point and a click away.

The puking was great though. It's rather common slang on Wall Street that a day when one loses a really large amount of money is a 'makes me want to puke all over my desk' day. The stock the kid bought must have really gone south in a hurry!

Posted by j mct | February 25, 2008 3:15 PM

It seems like a perfect illustration of PT Barnum's maxim, which Peter already quoted. But, although the kid is too young to remember the last market crash, he isn't the sucker here...

Posted by markm | February 25, 2008 5:25 PM

Etrade is just desperate for cash after making big bad bets on subprime mortgages. You'd think it would be good enough to just take commissions from a baby, but no...

Posted by Yaacov | March 5, 2008 3:59 PM