In what we’ve been told is only his second appearance in an ad campaign (and first in a decade) , the eponymous founder and chairman of Charles Schwab Corp is now ending his hiatus from the commercial world (Update: We were misinformed by one of the parties involved as we’ve been told by Schwab’s reps that the man himself has actually appeared in more than two ads, the last one being in 2008. Back to your regularly written post).
For what, you ask? Well, the debut of “Oh Chuck, I Blew My Cash,” a new round of online videos from Mekanism featuring idiots complaining to Schwab that they bankrupted themselves with stupid purchases.
It should also be mentioned that Charles Schwab’s low exposure to mortgage-backed securities allowed the company to escape most unscathed from the recent financial crisis and the bank bailout altogether. In other words, Chucks’s advice is actually quite valuable. The dude’s learned a lot in 74 years, and he seems all too aware that America’s youth is busy dropping bills on things like exotic pets, WiFi-enabled dog houses and lifelike wax statues of the Jonas Brothers.
Aside from criticizing asinine money management that results in buying creepy animal masks, expensive room service and a storage unit full of sneakers, the campaign also features a Facebook contest where people can tell Chuck the stupid crap they’ve bought for a chance to win a $10,000 account with the bank. Current entries on Charles Schwab’s Facebook page include people who have blown their cash on designer handbags, vintage bikes and fancy gym memberships. We wonder, will the company reward the financially inept or those who actually blew their money on something important, like sending their kid to college? Two more spots follow after the jump.