Bright Start ads shine light on college plans

By Lewis Lazare

Sun-Times, Chicago, IL

Published Thursday, April 17, 2008

When Alexi Giannoulias took office as Illinois treasurer last year, he wasn't satisfied with the way the state's Bright Start program was operating. Bright Start is the state program that allows residents to make regular deposits into a tax-free account for their children's college education.

Giannoulias set about making changes. He brought in Oppenheimer Funds as the Bright Start program manager. And Two by Four/Chicago was tapped to help develop a marketing campaign to make Bright Start connect more effectively with the parents for whom the program exists. In the new print and television campaign breaking this week, we see just how directly Two by Four is going about trying to connect with parents. Anyone with children will have no trouble recognizing what they are watching in each of four 30-second television spots.

The commercials are simply edited bits of raw home footage showing young kids doing what young kids do -- which isn't always soothing to the nerves. There's no gloss. No uplifting musical underscoring. In "Bedtime," for instance, we see a very young boy and girl being told by mom that it's time to go to bed. The news isn't exactly what the kids were hoping to hear. In fact, the young girl starts bawling in the way youngsters trying to get their way are known to do, while the young boy remains fixated on the camera and cameraman in the room.

In keeping with the overarching raw style of "Bedtime," at the end of the spot we see the message flash onscreen that going to bed is hard, while saving for college doesn't have to be. A subsequent voiceover snippet provides the necessary Bright Start contact info.

The parents watching these commercials undoubtedly know how incredibly difficult it is to rear kids. Speaking to them in an very unvarnished fashion strikes us as a good way to make parents perk up and take an interest in Bright Start, which investment research firm Morningstar on Wednesday rated as one of the nation's top 529 college savings plans.

Grade: B