In humorous pratfalls, somebody gets hurt in order to make others laugh. In eBay's newest 30-second TV commercial spot, the joke's on homebuyers. New homeowners are shown pulling the "for sale" sign from the yard in front of their new home, and immediately, the home begins to self-destruct. The commercial ends with the owners sticking the sign back into the ground.

Homes do self-destruct, not in 30 seconds, but over a period of years. It could be argued that eBay was merely spoofing the life cycle of homebuying. You buy a home, and things break down. You fix them, and then you sell. That's one of the many reasons people buy and sell homes, to move on to something better.

But did the commercial have some other agenda? RE/MAX International Inc. thought so and promptly slapped eBay Inc. with a state and federal trademark infringement suit, alleging that the signage used in the commercial features colors and design which is too similar to its own established logo. As one of the nation's largest franchise organizations with an arguably easily recognizable logo, the company is afraid that TV viewers will be left with the impression that RE/MAX "typically engages in the sale of homes that are in disrepair or otherwise unsuitable for habitation," according to the complaint.

So what is making RE/MAX so touchy? After all, eBay allegedly picked RE/MAX's colors to spoof, not Century21's, or Prudential's. Why not respond with humor, the way Jack Nicholson and Robert De Niro do when they are lampooned on NBC's Saturday Night Live? They surprise and delight the audience by showing up on the set, and confronting the show's cast with mock anger. It's all in good fun.

But Nicholson's grin and DeNiro's head-nodding aren't trademarked. RE/MAX's logo is, with over $2 billion spent to develop the brand image since 1974. And, Realtors are tired of being the butt of jokes. They're the target for every new dotcom idea to come along which is based upon getting between Realtors and their commissions. It's just not funny anymore, and RE/MAX's lawsuit says so.

Why eBay's Blunder Is Bigger Than That

eBay's ad firm could go up for a Clio award with the cleverness of its spot, but as far as helping its client eBay achieve its goals, the company deserves to go up for review instead. Why? Somebody didn't do enough homework. That could have been eBay's fault if they didn't convey the right information. Like what the company's goals really are. If they had, the ad team would have learned three key things that might have resulted in a totally different campaign. They would have learned that eBay needs Realtors more than consumers. The site, as large as it is, simply isn't attracting enough listings. As of January 12, 2001, the site only posted 205 listings in its real estate section. Realtor.com, by contrast, advertises that it has 1.4 million. If you were a consumer looking for property, where would you rather go?

So, eBay, if you want Realtors and their listings, you need to be aware of three cardinal rules.

Rule #1: Don't make fun of Realtors.

Rule #2: Don't mess with their money

Rule #3: Don't get between Realtors and consumers

Now, why is not getting between Realtors and their commissions and customers important? eBay is the world's largest consumer-to-consumer marketplace where auctions are the primary means of conveying new and second-hand goods. eBay is already aware that the auction model doesn't work as well for homes and has adjusted its consumer-to-consumer rules accordingly. Bids are not binding on homes. The company has struck a deal with HomeSeekers to leverage their expertise in the Realtor/portal segments to create a new real estate section, a strong signal that the business model for eBay real estate is about to change.

And there's only one way to do that. Attract Realtors. eBay is in a particularly good place to do that since other companies are fleeing the consumer real estate models. Only a few listing sites remain now that CyberHomes, Realestate.com, iOwn.com, and others have left the field. That means there will be some opportunity to sell lead generation tools and services to Realtors in exchange for advertising their listings. Although eBay and HomeSeekers have not revealed their plans, it is a certainty that whatever is in the works will require that Realtors pay fees or buy services to make the site go.

If the site isn't Realtor-friendly, eBay is going to have a hard time convincing Realtors why they should bother.

Part II - Find out What Happened To Others Who Broke The Rules? tomorrow on Agent News.

Published: January 15, 2001

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Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. For more articles by Blanche, click here.