Barclaycard has signed queen of pop Grace Jones to help it poke fun at "cool" buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) rivals, positioning its traditional bank as a safer option than modern fintech.
"Why does everything have to be cool these days?" asks an unimpressed Jones in the "There's more to Barclaycard" film as she snatches a pair of sunglasses from a man who is trying too hard next to her.
The ad flicks through various characters, each going out of their way to act "trendy" in the most garish fashion. "Even the way we pay needs to be cool," Jones continues as a funky cowboy attempts to pay with a triangle-shaped "Kool Kredit" card – the use of a "k" a nod to a certain rival brand.
Jones insists to the camera that she doesn't just want her payment solution to be "cool", she wants protection on purchases and for it to help her build up her credit score and rewards.
The ad was created by Droga5 London, which won the creative account in 2018. The spot was directed by Andreas Nilsson through Biscuit Filmworks.
Matt Hubbard, creative director at Droga5 London, said: “Grace Jones is arguably the coolest human on the planet. We could think of no better person to finally call BS on the providers prioritising cool over being rewarding, protecting and helpful – especially if you’re looking to get on the property ladder.”
Barclaycard entered the controversial BNPL market back in April when it extended a deal with Amazon to provide point-of-sale financing on its e-commerce platform.
At the time, Barclays chief executive Jes Staley said: "It's a growing market for us."
The BNPL market is a burgeoning space, with market leader Klarna paving the way for other services to follow.
With Barclaycard and Amazon now wanting a slice of the profitable BNPL pie, online shoppers need only to put an item in their shopping basket to check out the fierce competition from the likes of PayPal, Klarna, Laybuy and Clearplay, Revolut and Apple.
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