One thing that I’ve learned from my years of television watching experience is that the actual content of a commercial doesn’t really have to do anything to the product or brand being promoted. In fact, it seems that some of the most successful advertising campaigns of all time are not at all relevant to their respective brands.

Consider some of the examples. From Budweiser, we were introduced to the Budweiser frogs, which later expanded into the Budweiser chameleons and the Budweiser weasel. These animals really have nothing to do with the beer, but we are constantly reminded of the brand.

Similarly, the E-Trade babies probably don’t have all that much to do with the stock trading market. However, they do hold a little more relevance that the Budweiser animals because the assumption is that the babies are meant to represent the relative ease of use for trading stocks on E-Trade. But where does that leave, say, the Geico gecko?

In the end, it is ultimately much more important to build up a strong brand presence than it is to market a specific product or service. When your company name becomes synonymous with a certain type of product or service, it’s no longer necessary to focus so much on the specifics.