Thirty years ago, a young company named Apple teased the launch of its Macintosh with a Super Bowl ad that may be the most famous TV commercial of all time. So it takes some guts for a start-up that has not even launched yet to pay homage to that ad by updating it to 2014.
We've certainly generated some controversy for messing with a classic, but here's why we at Aspiration thought this was the right way to preview our launch:
Thirty years ago, what Apple announced they were going to do was democratize computing. Back then, the idea of a computer that was personalized to people -- with a mouse and graphics and a warm experience for the user -- was revolutionary. Today, what Aspiration is setting out to do is similar: to democratize the world of investing.
Back in 1984, Big Brother was Big Blue -- IBM -- a cold, impersonal, giant company. Today, Big Brother is the Big Banks -- too big to care, bailed out institutions that too often seem guided by values that are out of touch with those of everyday investors. (In fact, listen carefully to the words of Big Brother in the ad and see if you can figure out where they came from...)
It doesn't have to be this way. Aspiration is founded on the belief that financial firms can care about both profits and people too - and that they'll do better because of it.
What do you think? Share your voices in this debate -- and if you agree with us on the need for a new kind of financial company, check out the ad and share it and Aspiration with your friends! Stay tuned for more...