‘Burrito Scarfer’ CFP Board Ads Weren’t Meant for Advisors (Or, Even Adults)
A new CFP Board ad campaign targeting college students and high schoolers missed the mark among members. That might be the point.
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Apparently, the “lead burrito scarfer” position has been shelved.
The CFP Board is facing widespread criticism after launching an advertising campaign that its own members have called out for portraying the profession as underworked and overpaid. The spots juxtaposed made-up jobs — like “professional daydreamer” or “celebrity hand holder” — with the certified financial planning role. They have been broadly lampooned by the very CFPs who funded them with membership fees.
Sure, the ads didn’t hit home with some advisors, but that might have been the point. The objective was to “catch the attention” of college students and college-bound high schoolers, not grab a laugh from professional planners.
“I understand the reaction,” CFP Board Chair Matthew Boersen told The Daily Upside. “I had to remind myself that I am not the target audience — high school and college students are.”
Don’t Poke the Nerd
The still-image versions of the advertisements took the brunt of the backlash for also pointing out that the average CFP brings home $192,000 a year. It’s more than triple the national average, according to research, and would make for a handsomely overpaid “bubble bath sommelier.” Well-known industry blogger and prominent CFP Michael Kitces also expressed his disapproval on LinkedIn, adding that CFPs pay $455 annually in fees and about a third of that is spent on public awareness.
Glenn Downing, a CFP and an advisor with CameronDowning, called the ads “absolutely appalling.” “It is truly disrespectful to current certificants who’ve worked their asses off to get where they are today.”
The ads are slated to run digitally through the end of the year across various online platforms, like Spotify, Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, Twitch, and Snapchat. In one ad, a suave bubble-bath aficionado soaks up some suds while a voiceover says: “Financial planning — quite possibly the perfect job.”
“The connection was definitely not clear,” said Stephen Taylor, a CFP and an advisor with Merited Wealth. “Then it becomes up for interpretation.”
It’s Good to Be a CFP. Like much of wealth management, the CFP Board has long tried to diversify its membership and reach out to younger generations. The planning industry could be an appealing landing spot. The latest CFP Board compensation survey found career satisfaction was through the roof, with 85% of professionals experiencing a high sense of personal fulfillment.
For Taylor, the industry could use more lighthearted advertising that might help change the job’s traditionally stuffy image. “Any effort to get young people to stop scrolling is a positive,” he said.
