Grace Jones Needs More than Just 'Cool' in Bizarre Barclaycard Ad

In a world where everything has become dominated by 'cool', Grace Jones, eternal icon of cool, is partnering with Barclaycard to ask the question "why does everything need to be cool these days?"

The 60 second launch spot from director Andreas Nilsson sees Grace, in her inimitable style, take the world to task for its obsession with cool music, cool food, cool tats, and yes, even cool armpits! Grace articulates the simple truth that cool is often overrated, especially when it comes to payments. And like Grace, we'd all be better off if we prioritised protection, rewards, and building our credit score over how cool our payments provider is. Which is, or course, where Barclaycard comes in.

The campaign will be extended with a 30 second TVC, short form social films and out-of-home media. These will ask further questions of how we're making our payments - "Did your new trainers help you improve your credit score", "Is your holiday booking protected", "When they say 'pay later', how much 'later' is 'later'?", "When you ordered your last flat white, did you get a tip?". All of these serve to reinforce the fact that when it comes to the smartest way to make your payments, there's more to Barclaycard.

Matt Hubbard, creative director at Droga5 said: “Today’s ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ providers like to pretend they have a lot to offer customers, but they’re really just the emperor's new clothes.”