CFP Board's 'Perfect Job' Promos Fall Flat With Planners

As Kitces and others pointed out, a more generous interpretation of the campaign is also possible, as was offered up by Derek Tharp, a CFP and associate professor of finance at the University of Southern Maine.

"Having now reviewed their full ad library in Meta and reading about the background of the campaign, I think the issue here is really just the lack of context for the still image versions of these ads," Tharp wrote.

Ultimately, Tharp argued, the video format works much better — "and that's likely what most college aged kids will see anyways."

Not So Easy

Additional criticisms focus on the fact that there is nothing easy about earning the CFP designation. It's an academically demanding process that requires significant investment of both time and money.

"Working full time and going to school full time at night doesn't leave a ton of room for work-life balance," one CFP wrote in response to Timmerman's post. "Taking care of hundreds of people doesn't exactly leave a lot of room for self care. … And they make no mention of how these young professionals are going to go about finding and converting clients."

A number of college students joined the discussion, including one who wrote that she appreciated the sentiment behind the campaign.

"As a financial planning student, I appreciate the focus on work-life balance, especially in a time where mental health awareness is key," wrote Sydney Bridges, who is studying finance and financial planning at the University of North Florida. "The ability to balance career and family is part of what drew me to the profession, but my primary motivation is to build impactful relationships and serve families."

Bridges said the campaign, however, doesn't highlight this passion for helping others.

"While likely well intended, the ads make being a CFP seem overly simple, which diminishes the profession's value," she argued. "The portrayal of Gen Z also feels off; those who care about helping others and work hard will become the best future CFPs, but the campaign doesn't speak to that enough, in my opinion."

A Better Approach?

Hopkins told ThinkAdvisor in a separate email that he welcomes the idea of being "creative and edgy" to grow the profession.

"But we also have to protect and support the profession," he said. "The static ads are the problem here. The video ads have more nuance and get the point across better, although I still think they represent a miss on how anyone sees themselves."

The profession already has challenges in public perception as overpaid and untrustworthy, with related challenges as to "how we add value or what we do," Hopkins said.

"To imply this is an easy and overpaid job is a disservice to the people creating real value and impact every day with their clients," he said. "The ads, to me, were focused on a bad stereotype of the current young generation as lazy, also, pushing a dangerous narrative.

"These ads are about individuals, jobs, money and laziness — the opposite of what we stand for," Hopkins added. "While likely coming from a good-natured attempt, these missed and they missed badly. I think the focus should be on the value of an advisor, how we help and serve clients. This impact should be the focus, not the individual and their job."