TD Ameritrade began a new $100 million campaign on TV this week, the first work for the marketer from Havas Worldwide New York, which was named lead creative agency in May.

The initial ads are close to pep talks, concluding, "For all the confidence you need, TD Ameritrade. You got this." They take over for more daunting messages about the "seismic shift" in "what passes for common sense."

"No matter what type of investor you are or how much experience you have, everyone can use more confidence in the financial decisions they're making," said Tim Maleeny, chief strategy officer at Havas.

The campaign will rely on storytelling to get the point across, according to Mr. Maleeny. "TD Ameritrade has been a leader in the investment category for some time, but their brand narrative hasn't always reflected the incredible story of what the company actually does for its clients," he said.

The new effort comes about a year after Denise Karkos became CMO at TD Ameritrade, and six months after E-Trade made the move to its "Type E" campaign from the long-running talking-baby spots, which were meant to show how easy investing could be.

"Investors need a little hope and encouragement. It's there to communicate that our brand is there for them, to encourage them," Ms. Karkos said.

The characters in the first spots are somewhat generic, with more of an everyman vibe than investment-ad regulars like silver-haired couples worrying if they saved enough. "We're an inclusive brand," Ms. Karkos said "From a consumer perspective, we target the mass affluent investor, we don't differentiate," she said.

Although the campaign began on TV, it will often concentrate elsewhere, Ms. Karkos added. "It's less about medium and more about promoting confidence," she said, "so we'll focus primarily on digital and CRM where we can be authentic in our conversations with consumers." It will also include print, social and in-store efforts.