Silly Singalong Pays Off for PayPal

PayPal’s biggest ever TV campaign hit US screens in September, featuring an A-List comedian, a classic 80s jam, and a laser-focus on a new product benefit. It’s a brash, hard-to-forget, populist campaign that also manages to be entertaining, and it’s landed this week’s Ad Of The Week for the US.

PayPal and BBH have got on board a current trend in TV ads to take old tunes and change the lyrics – in this case, Fleetwood Mac’s “Everywhere” gets a makeover courtesy of Will Ferrell, singing “I wanna pay with you everywhere” to the PayPal app on his phone. If that sounds cheesy, don’t worry, the ad knows it, with Ferrell pointing out the corny lyric change in one of the many jokes PayPal have stuffed into their 60 seconds.

But cheesy or not, the lyric change is doing a job. It’s reminding viewers, again and again, of the basic benefit the ad is pushing: PayPal’s app is now accepted as payment via phone at retailers all over the country. And there’s a generous cashback offer on payments via PayPal’s credit card too.

Singing a silly lyric is a way of getting that critical message over without testing the audience’s patience with voiceovers or explanations. And using a famous song is the kind of cultural reference which gets the all-important broad-beam attention of the brain’s right hemisphere. (See Orlando Wood’s Lemon for the brainy details.)

The ad also works because of Will Ferrell’s star power. On average, using a celebrity in your ad doesn’t create any automatic advantage – as we’ve seen in our analysis of Super Bowl ads with stars over the years. But get the right celebrity and use them well and it can make a major difference. Ferrell’s gift for silly, self-effacing, rapid-fire comedy means PayPal’s ad is packed with funny moments and stands up well on rewatching – important for a campaign that’s built to last through Fall and into Winter. The fact he knows that what he’s doing is goofy reflects well on the brand too – positioning PayPal as an informal, relatable brand in a traditional category.

So what do real audiences make of it? “Everywhere” is a big hit, notching up an impressive 4.2-Stars on System1’s Test Your Ad platform – way, way ahead of the low 1.6-Star Rating the Business Services category usually manages. Its short-term Spike Rating is even stronger, coming in as Exceptional. So it’s an ad which, given the correct investment, will drive strong long-term growth and exceptional short-term sales gain. That’s encouraging news for a major brand campaign, and proof that with Will Ferrell, PayPal are getting their money’s worth.