Barclays PLC has retooled a television ad for contactless payments to feature use of a mobile phone to make payments in a move that could help to raise awareness of the technology.
The issuer launched the U.K.'s first contactless mobile payments system in May. The new ad features a man riding a roller coaster through the city and using his phone to pay for items during this trip. The previous version showed the man paying with a contactless card instead of a phone.
The issuer also changed the music to Petula Clark's "Downtown." The original spot featured "More than a Feeling" by Boston. Though the ad is flashy, it may not help speed adoption of mobile payments, according to an analyst, who said that the original contactless payment spot was popular.
"Barclaycard also used innovative marketing techniques, incorporating social media, game apps and other channels," Zilvinas Bareisis, senior analyst at Celent in London, said by email. "However, while it certainly increased awareness of contactless, I don't think that it had a material impact on the actual adoption of the technology."
