I Am CNBC - Brilliant Campaign Even With Flaws

Are you a regular watcher of CNBC?  I've always been a fan going back to my Harrisdirect days and since about September it is part of a rotation of programming I leave on while working in my NJ office (that would be first Fox and Friends, Mike and Mike on ESPN, CNN, and then back to CNBC straight through to Mad Money).  Anyway, not sure when they started running the I am CNBC ads (the I Am American Business has been around) but I think the campaign is brilliant even if it does have some flaws.

I Am CNBC is Brilliant

1. It puts personality behind the anchors
2. It gives the anchors a chance to talk about what makes them click giving people more of a chance to bond with them
3. The black and white imagery really makes the ads stand out and really lets you connect with them
4. After all the news business is about the reporters and their opinion/spin and less about the actual reporting of news (this helps, but explain MSNBC)
5. Helps them cross sell between shows so that when you are watching one program they can serve ads with a different personality in them
6. The I Am campaign has legs, but...

I Am CNBC Has Flaws

1. This campaign is screaming social networking
2. Where are the ability to leave comments, post your own video as to why I Am CNBC Viewer, etc
3. Why no Twitter accounts, Facebook links, LinkedIn, YouTube, and etc?  This would be a great way to continue the conversation. Sure you probably think that the majority of your viewers aren't using those products, but I'm willing to bet Twitter and YouTube would be of great use.
4. The I Am American Business doesn't seem to resonate with me.  Maybe it is because I can read/learn about their stories elsewhere and I find it hard to believe that all of them are rabid CNBC watchers, besides those come off as paid endorsements.
5. Why no ability to embed videos or widgets on blogs, websites?
6. Did I write how much more interesting this campaign would be if you let people film their own 30 second video as to why they watch CNBC just to get the chance to have it put up on your website?  Save me the excuses of being serious all of the time...
7. Where's Michelle?

Anyway, I love the I Am CNBC and they passed my TiVo test.  Too bad with a little more effort they could have expanded more into the Social Networking world.  One final note, if they did have links to SocNets out there I couldn't find them on searches or links from their website.

PardonMyFrench,

Eric