Dive Brief:
- PayPal ran its first-ever Super Bowl ad yesterday, positioning itself as an always-open, all-inclusive, “new money” that helps reach people reach beyond traditional banking.
- The ad contrasts old-money characteristics such as banks with short hours and paper bills to show how PayPal technology is helping democratize access to money.
- The new ad is part of a major branding campaign from the independent PayPal, its first since splitting from eBay last year.
Dive Insight:
PayPal is embarking on a branding campaign that positions it as a new, inclusive monetary system set to change with the times. The campaign debuted yesterday with the company’s first Super Bowl ad, a 45-second treatment known as “There’s a New Money in Town.”
Set to the anthemic Demi Lovato's songs "Confident," the ad shows the outdated characteristics of “old money”—paper bills, closed banks and deceased presidents. By contrast, new money is “always open” and “all people,” the ad says, and “PayPal is new money.”
The ad marks the beginning of a branding push that will include additional television, outdoor and digital placements. “This ad is more than a commercial; it’s our opportunity to introduce the world to PayPal’s vision for the future of money,” Greg Fisher, PayPal’s vice president of Global Brand Marketing, said in a release.
Competition is growing in payments, with banks, telecoms, and tech companies eager to snatch a slice of the payments pie. The recently independent PayPal added 6.6 million users in the fourth quarter and its revenues increased to $2.6 billion.
