Watch E-Trade’s March Madness ad pushing its connection to Morgan Stanley

E-Trade is promoting its connection to parent company Morgan Stanley with a campaign debuting during the NCAA March Madness tournament. Airing during the Sweet 16 matchups on Friday, the 30-second spot for the brokerage brand shows a family looking for animals during a boat tour. When none appear, the mother surprises her family by bellowing a roar that summons a walrus. A grisly man on board notes that people can still be surprising, even after knowing them for a while, then compares the event to discovering that Morgan Stanley financial experts provide support within E-Trade’s platform. ‘An entryway for investors and traders’ Morgan Stanley closed its roughly $13 billion acquisition of E-Trade in October 2020. After owning the company for almost five years, Morgan Stanley continues to find value in using the brokerage as an introduction to the rest of its wealth management services, Andrea Zaretsky, chief marketing officer of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, stated in an email. “E-Trade provides an entryway for investors and traders to access a full range of offerings as their needs evolve,” she stated. Wealth Management has been a point of stability for Morgan Stanley. The firm’s roughly 15,000 financial advisers are excluded from its plan to cut 2,000 employees, or about 3% of its workforce, this month to reduce costs, Bloomberg News reported last week. E-Trade’s ad marks the beginning of its “More to Love” campaign that will promote the value Morgan Stanley adds to the online brokerage as it runs throughout the year. 72andSunny New York created the spot, which marks its second TV ad for the brand following its 2024 Super Bowl spot that saw two infants compete on the pickleball court. The campaign will run on broadcast and streaming networks and online video, digital and social channels. The “Call of the Wild” ad will first run on digital channels on Thursday and then during major sports events such as MLB Opening Day, the NFL Draft and the NHL Playoffs. The brokerage will also sponsor the men’s 3-point championship during Final Four weekend to extend the brand’s presence in the tournament. “We harness the power of exciting sport events, like March Madness, to reach our target audiences when we know they are watching, during a key period for our business,” Zaretsky said. “This year’s campaign aims to keep E-Trade top-of-mind during one of the biggest sporting events in March.” Recent news: March Madness 2025 NIL deals E-Trade opted to sit out the Super Bowl this year after running four consecutive Big Game spots. Separately, E-Trade continues to push its partnership with OpenAI, announced in 2023, which gives financial advisers access to AI tools. James Dyett, head of enterprise and strategic sales at OpenAI, participated in a livestreamed discussion that educated consumers on various investing topics on Morgan Stanley’s website this past Monday. It will be available to watch on demand this week as part of E-Trade’s quarterly “Money Monday” series. “Data shows that our clients are very interested in artificial intelligence as a thematic investing opportunity to help diversify their portfolios,” Zaretsky said. “With our unique partnership with OpenAI, it’s a perfect opportunity to combine client interests with our exclusive industry relationships to bring the very best, cutting-edge insights to our clients.”

Watch E-Trade’s March Madness ad pushing its connection to Morgan Stanley

Featured Stories