“That’s smoooth.”
Klarna has long been known for its eccentric, star-studded campaigns – from A$AP Rocky taking over as CEO for a day to Snoop Dogg transforming into Smoooth Dogg when he partnered with the BNPL back in 2019.
The next celebrity to take on the Swedish fintech’s “Smoooth” tagline is none other than American media personality Paris Hilton.
In collaboration with her media company 11:11 Media – could a collaboration with fintech’s own 11:FS be next? – Hilton has taken Snoop Dogg’s original “Get Smooth” campaign with Klarna, added her own spin, combined her catchphrase “That’s hot” and ended up with “That’s smoooth”.
Not too different from Snoop Dogg’s advert surrounded by Afghan hounds, but this time there’s a stretched-out dachshund donning a collar emblazoned with the words “Stretch your payments with Klarna” to draw attention to the company’s flexible payment options.
In stark contrast to the seemingly sombre state of Klarna as a business last year, with valuation cuts, losses for the BNPL tripling in the first half of 2022 and two rounds of job cuts, the consumer-facing dreamlike Klarna world continues to grow.
“Paris Hilton is a trailblazer across fashion, tech, and business – areas very familiar to Klarna,” Klarna chief marketing officer David Sandström said.
“Her ability to stay ahead of trends, her shopping prowess and the fact that our customer has grown up with her, made Paris the perfect person to partner with for this campaign.”
The BNPL giant did not share whether Hilton has followed in the footsteps of her predecessors in becoming a shareholder in the company in addition to starring in the new campaign, which features another internet star, Klarna’s global ‘ambaddiesore’ Bretman Rock.
Bringing the bubblegum-pink world of Klarna with “a nod to Y2K fashion” to life was Ukrainian Grammy award nominee Tanu Muino, who has worked with Harry Styles, Lizzo and Cardi B.
“It’s so refreshing to put fashion in a comedic spotlight, two things you wouldn’t think go together, but that’s what fashion is about – breaking the rules,” Muino said.
“Ultimately, we built a world unique to Klarna, a visual experience that doesn’t exist anywhere created by combining modernism with a sprinkle of retro timelessness.”
The company is continuing to strengthen its appeal to a younger generation of shoppers with its in-app operations as well, with the launch of a ‘Spotify Wrapped’-style, Instagram-friendly story feature showing users all the ways they spent money in 2022.
The new ‘Money Story’ is intended to make it easier and more fun for users to keep track of their spending habits in a gamified way.
Sign up for our newsletters
Companies in this Article:
