Complaints greet E*Trade ad debut

<p>HONG KONG: An E*Trade Securities campaign, featuring a Ferrari </p><p>being rammed, to announce the online securities trading broker's delayed </p><p>entry into Hong Kong has sparked a storm of protests. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>At press time, the Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority </p><p>received a total of 119 complaints for the campaign created by BBDO. </p><p>Complaints have also been filed against a Sunday campaign, another BBDO </p><p>client (see page 3). </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>According to E*Trade managing director, Mathias Helleu, the ad was </p><p>created with "the Hong Kong public in mind" and aimed to shock people </p><p>into action. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"We wanted to tell people to take control of their financial future. </p><p>It's basically a call for action. We don't think it is offensive, but a </p><p>rather bold, aggressive and humourous approach." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The aggressive approach may be necessary as the market is </p><p>highly-competitive and rivals like Charles Schwab and Sun Hung Kai have </p><p>beaten E*Trade to launch. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The campaign did however find support among some creatives. Dentsu Young </p><p>& Rubicam head of creative, Wallus Leung, applauded the approach. "We </p><p>seldom see creative execution such as this in Hong Kong and that is why </p><p>the reaction has been big." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Viewers who complained said the campaign encouraged destructive, envious </p><p>and vengeful behaviour. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>