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Capital One showcases Apple Pay?s ease in new TV commercial

Capital One debuted a new television commercial on New Year?s Eve, highlighting how easy it is to make a purchase using Apple Pay and the Capital One credit card. 

Apple Pay was introduced in the fall of 2014 and has quickly been adopted by retailers and financial institutions, which could help drive adoption in 2015. By turning the focus on Apple Pay and the Capital One Wallet, the TV campaign reflects the high level of importance financial institutions are placing on insuring they play a role in mobile payments. 

?I think [mobile payments are] going to be very important to banks? customers and because of that, it should be very important to them,? said Thad Peterson, senior analyst atAite Group, Atlanta. ?The challenge is that there is the card side of the bank and the non-card side of the bank. 

?The card side has gotten very much involved in mobile payments while on the wallet side, they haven?t done so much,? he said. ?The question is can they effectively migrate the enthusiasm behind mobile on the card side to the non-card side.?

Everyday purchases
The new commercial made its debut during the Capital One Orange Bowl on New Year?s Eve on ESPN. 

The spot was created by DDB and is titled ?Worn Jeans.? 

The ad features consumers using their Capital One card with Apple Pay to make purchases directly from an iPhone 6, while keeping track of their purchases via the Capital One Wallet app.

The commercial begins by showing smartphones being removed from pockets with the outline of the device worn into the fabric of a pair of jeans, a jacket and a briefcase, reflecting how consumers take their phones with them everywhere they go these days. 


The ad then shows a woman making a purchase in an apparel store using her Capital One Visa credit card by holding her phone over a contactless terminal. 

Subsequent scenes showcase the myriad products that can be purchased using Apple Pay and the Capital One credit card, including a bicycle, wine and shoes. 

Wallet app
The ad also highlights the Capital One Wallet app, which lets users keep track of all of their purchases. 

The Capital One Wallet app for iOS enables users to sign in easily using Apple?s Touch ID. It also provides real-time purchase notifications for credit card customers and the ability to load an egift card to use for making purchases. 

The commercial will air across major television networks, cable entertainment and sports outlets, online video, Video on Demand and on Mobile iAds beginning January 5.?


Apple Pay grows
Apple Pay continues to add more partners, including a number of new banks, which will drive perceived value for consumers and encourage more banks as well as retailers to jump on board (see story). 

Apple claims that Apple Pay now supports credit cards representing approximately 90 percent of credit card purchases in the United States.

?On the wallet side, banks have not effectively moved forward as fast as the card issuing side has and they need to,? Mr. Peterson said. 

?There is a large customer base out there that has little if any awareness of the bankss mobile capabilities,? he said. 

Final Take
?Chantal Tode is senior editor on Mobile Marketer, New York