‘I am CNBC’ promotional ads
seem to do a lot of bragging
Posted Wednesday, April 8, 2009; updated Saturday, June 27, 2009
The introductory Web page to the "I am CNBC" ad campaign describes CNBC stars as "Smart. Tenacious. Unique."
Why not "Cooks"?
"I am CNBC" promos are airing increasingly in recent months, with additional profiles. (Maybe we'll try that with "I am CNBCfix" sometime — once we get more than a single-digit budget.)
The ads are done in engaging black and white. The faces particularly of the female CNBC stars are instantly attractive in this unusual, subdued, plainer throwback to HD. (Credited makeup artist is Lauren Napier.)
What the spots are lacking isn't so much color — but modesty.
Television news ratings are immensely personality-driven. CNBC has a deeper bench of likable faces than its rivals. Promotional ads seem a clever way of reinforcing this strength.
The 30-second "I am CNBC" spots feature at least 30 stars (Dylan Ratigan had one, but presumably it's now in the "return to sender" file). Unfortunately, the spots are uneven and ineffective. The subjects sound like they all got different instructions. Incredibly, the net result might be a slight disdain for some of the more prominent stars.
Successfully pulling off ads like these requires the skills of a politician. You have to say good things about yourself without coming across as boasting. Many CNBC celebs can't do it, resorting to needless resume accomplishments and half-hearted, insincere, I-was-forced-to-do-this chuckling at their own slice-of-life experiences.
The worst cliche is "Emmy winner" or "Emmy nominee." Tip: The public just assumes, if it actually thinks about this at all, that big-time TV newspeople win Emmys all the time and doesn't care. It's like sitcoms; if you're good enough to be famous on TV in the first place, you're far above an Emmy. Listing travels is also silly. Sarah Palin might not've traveled abroad much, but international TV anchors certainly do and apparently love to tell you about it.
College background is dicier. Hearing several stars mention Harvard, or highly advanced degrees like Joe Kernen's biology stable, sounds a bit elitist for people occasionally viewed (not by this site) as simply newsreaders. On the other hand, educational background is very telling (and is the inspiration for the CNBCfix star profiles page). Either all profiles should include education, or none.
There's not really a pattern as to who says what. Some of the biggest stars mention as many awards as the least-known stars. One person claims to be a Pulitzer nominee; another claims a Pulitzer win. The word "wife" is mentioned by two women — Carmen Wong Ulrich and Trish Regan. Charles Gasparino and Bob Pisani mention their wives.
A couple refer to youth accomplishments. Several more declare themselves journalists. Perhaps the greatest revelation is that apparently everyone at CNBC is a great chef and has plenty of time for the kitchen.
CNBCfix is well familiar — extremely well familiar — with the media ego scene, whether print or broadcasting.
Some elites are a total class act and a pleasure to work with.
But not all.
Some media stars are insufferable. With those, the deal is, they pester behind the scenes nonstop and it's all about me, diverting staffers' energy and resources from other more important subjects to their trivial problems, only to deliver impressively when it's their turn at-bat. Others are fine to work with, even laudable, but then can't help but condescend to their public audience, restricting the appeal they should rightfully have.
We don't know who might qualify in the former at CNBC (though everyone is now hearing that a recent "Fast Money" host fits the bill). The latter category, based on the "I am CNBC" spots, might include David Faber, Sharon Epperson and John Harwood. Maria Bartiromo probably pushes the envelope a bit more than Maverick in "Top Gun."
The winners in this campaign? Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, Bill Griffeth, Phil LeBeau, Erin Burnett.
Jane Wells and Jim Goldman were tough calls. Both spots are 90% appealing but with a drawback: Wells doesn't need to mention awards, and we'd love to hear from Brown U. folks about how rare it is that Goldman "designed" his own major.
We were disappointed not to find a profile for Mary Thompson (yet). We're sure hers will be great, and can say many visitors to this site are also looking forward to it.
Here are some of the more noteworthy comments from each:
Maria Bartiromo: "Best-selling author ... a pretty good photographer ... the subject of a pop song."
Julia Boorstin: "One of Fortune magazine's youngest reporters."
Margaret Brennan: "I'm fluent in Arabic."
Michelle Caruso-Cabrera: "I am the daughter of a Cuban exile who escaped communism ... Spanish-speaking personal finance writer ... I love to cook ... I know all the words to every hit from the '70s and '80s."
Erin Burnett: "I'm exactly where I want to be."
Bertha Coombs: "I am my family's first college graduate ... a great cook, and pretty darn good with power tools."
Scott Cohn: "An old radio guy — that's where I started, now I collect them ... I love my family ... I've followed bad guys and good guys all over the world, but the best people of all are right here."
Sharon Epperson: "I am ... a trailblazer ... Harvard graduate, Columbia lecturer ... I'm a role model."
David Faber: "I am a Peabody, Emmy-winning documentarian ... they call me 'The Brain'."
Jim Cramer: "I am a Harvard grad ... they call me a stock star."
Donny Deutsch: "A starmaker ... Wharton graduate ... I'm often wrong."
Melissa Francis: "I am an energy maven ... Harvard grad ... guest of world leaders."
Jim Goldman: "From Beverly Hills ... a wrestler, water polo player ... at Brown, I designed my own major, ethics in political journalism ... my best friends are my two sons ... I may have chips on the brain but never on my shoulder."
Charles Gasparino: "Pulitzer Prize nominee ... I'm a fantastic cook and I can prove it. I think I would've been a great FBI agent."
Bill Griffeth: "Chef ... Direct descendant of a Salem witch. ... I still can't believe I get paid to do this."
Mark Haines: "A Penn law grad ... I helped put morning business shows on the map."
John Harwood: "I've been to Duke, to Harvard, and to South Africa."
Sue Herera: "The first lady of Wall Street."
Rebecca Jarvis: "I was once voted one of 20 teens who will change the world."
Joe Kernen: "Degree in molecular, cellular and developmental biology with a master's from MIT."
Dennis Kneale: "I'm told I'm a pretty funny guy."
Larry Kudlow: "I kick butt in tennis. I am rightly famous for my necktie collection."
Phil LeBeau: "I've driven some of the most amazing cars in the world."
Melissa Lee: "Multiple Emmy nominee."
Steve Liesman: "Got a Pulitzer Prize for reporting on the market's crash."
Diana Olick: "An Emmy winner ... I've reported from Bahrain and Kosovo, from Moscow and Oklahoma City ... constant traveler ... I can fix anything in the house."
Matt Nesto: "Captain of the basketball team ... an Emerson College alum ... been nominated for best newscast in Asia."
Suze Orman: "Time magazine named me one of the hundred most influential people in the world."
Becky Quick: "I'm a word freak ... around here, you have to be a fast learner."
Carl Quintanilla: "I ran straight into Katrina, and later shared an Emmy award and a Peabody."
Bob Pisani: "New York-born ... taught at Wharton ... my iPod has 30,000 songs and counting ... my wife is my best friend."
Trish Regan: "I am an Emmy nominee ... an opera singer ... a wife ... I can discuss the economy in four languages."
Rick Santelli: "Model-airplane-building, soap-box-derby-racing, son of Chicago ... I know it's futile, but I love the Cubs ... and I love what I do."
Darren Rovell: "I'm a caviar-loving, sports-blogging, adrenaline junkie ... I ran the New York Marathon and qualified for a hot dog-eating contest in the same year. That was a good year."
Brian Shactman: "Master's in English lit ... Associated Press award winner."
Carmen Wong Ulrich: "I am a jack of many trades ... master's in psychology ... smitten wife ... I know New York like the back of my hand ... I'm a woman without regrets ... the secret to my success? My heart's in the right place."
Jane Wells: "Overly optimistic cook ... soft spot for the American flag ... on paper I'm a Peabody, Emmy and DuPont award winner ... the luckiest person alive."
One blogger, Caroline Waxler of The Business Insider, points out that Fox Business weakly poked fun at the CNBC ads and perhaps missed a chance to score PR points.
Another blogger says the ad campaign might be borrowed from one "advertising agency star" Mark Fitzgerald, who produced a series in 2000 called "I am Canadian."
If so, it's probably a clever lift on CNBC's part. "I am CNBC" is a worthy idea. Just too many uncertain testimonials from faces not fully comfortable in the big time, and a little too much braggadocio from a few that are. Those wanting to know what the stars of CNBC are really all about — in the fairest, most compelling treatment of its subjects — should take a pass on the commercials and visit the CNBC star profiles page instead.