McCann Worldgroup & Mastercard turn to horror to drive online payments in Indonesia

Following the enablement of debit cards for online payments in Indonesia last year, Mastercard partnered with McCann Worldgroup, Carat Media and Weber Shandwick to launch a nationwide integrated campaign in a bid to grow its share of the exploding e-comerce payments market.

Starring two of Indonesia’s most popular youth icons, Prilly Latuconsina and Raditya Dika, the campaign positions Mastercard cards as the “Smart Way to Pay” spotlighting the benefits of convenience and safety that accompany the use of debit and credit cards for online payments.

McCann Worldgroup’s idea of situating the campaign in a fictional horror movie shoot was inspired by Indonesians’ love for horror, one of the most popular movie genres.

The ambassadors were handpicked based on passion points of comedy, film and music, as well as attributes of authenticity, approachability and credibility in their respective domains.

Friends in real life, Prilly is an A-lister who shot to stardom through her lead roles in horror films, while Raditya is a stand-up comedian turned movie star and director with a penchant for the paranormal.

Both have a very strong back story that evidences their determination to push the boundaires to reach this level of fame. They starred together in a successful 2016 horror-comedy film, ‘The Hangout’, that left fans asking for more.

The campaign raised awareness on how Mastercard is a safe, faster, and convenient way to pay online. The campaign comprises six videos that demonstrate how Mastercard cards helped ‘save’ Raditya and Prilly in difficult situations on the sets of a movie shoot.

“We wanted to work with Prilly and Raditya in a way that matched their image. So we thought, let’s put them together again in a behind-the-scenes setting where they can be themselves, and use their banter to educate people on why Mastercard cards is the smart way to pay when it comes to online shopping,” said Chris Galea, Regional Business Director, McCann Worldgroup. Speaking about the campaign, Rustom Dastoor, Senior Vice President, Head of Marketing and Communications, Asia Pacific,

Mastercard said, “Mastercard is committed to Indonesia’s national cashless agenda, helping consumers make the shift to the convenient, safe and smart way of paying online with debit and credit cards.

“Working closely with Raditya and Prilly, from concept ideation and scripting to filming the campaign was a delightful exercise. Horror is the most loved genre in Indonesian cinema, and it gives the campaign a unique platform to deliver insights about smart ways to shop online through an entertaining format. With a different situation getting solved behind-the-scenes on set with Mastercard, the six films reinforce Mastercard’s global strategy of enabling consumers to Start Something Priceless, no matter where they are or what they’re doing.”

“Highlighting the benefits of using cards for online payments is an important step in truly achieving the Indonesian government’s vision of a cashless society. Raditya and Prilly, as two of Indonesian’s most well-loved celebrities, have been amazing to work with and share the same vision of instilling trust and confidence among Indonesians in using debit and credit cards for online transactions.

“As a local partner to the government, Mastercard hopes the Smart Way to Pay campaign will contribute to bringing the country closer to Indonesia’s Payment System 2025 Vision”, commented Safdar Khan, Division President for Indonesia, Malaysia & Brunei, Mastercard.

The integrated campaign aims to reach consumers at every touchpoint, including TV, OOH, online videos, digital banners, issuing banks and a comprehensive social roll-out.

Mastercard is also closely working with merchant partners and banks to bring the advantages of shopping and paying online with a Debit and Credit Mastercard card to more Indonesians through exclusive offers and incentive programmes.

The campaign launched on 28 August, 2019, with a teaser in the form of a movie trailer. This teaser, which so far has reached over 3.8M and 1.4 engagements. On 2 September, six behind-the-scenes videos launched, each busting a myth around card usage for online payment.