Paris Hilton Goes Back to the Future, Kind of, for Fintech Klarna

The years 2000 and 2023 collide and leave a hot pink vapor trail in fresh ads from Swedish fintech Klarna. Dropping today, a pair of :30s star retro-diva Paris Hilton and digital influencer Bretman Rock.

Hilton’s old-school swagger fuses with Bretman’s modern mojo to great effect. Created by the brand’s in-house team, Paris’ 11:11 Media and director Tanu Muino, the work focuses on shopping and fashion, hyping Klarna as a supremely “smooth” provider of digital payment services.

These may be the least substantial ads of the year so far. We mean that in the best way. They’re 100 percent fun and fluff. And that’s 100 percent brilliant.

After all, who wants brand explanations or tech jargon from Paris? Let’s watch her shop, cuddle cute doggies, chat on a corded phone with Bretman (who goes wireless) and indulge in kicky humor! 

By the same token, who cares how Klarna works, as long as the e-payments go through without a hitch?

“Paris Hilton is a trailblazer across fashion, tech, and business—areas very familiar to Klarna,”  says CMO David Sandström. “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 :30s look totally gorg. Muino—a Grammy nominee from Ukraine best known for music videos—paints in compelling hues that pop, from the deep green velour of Paris’ tracksuit’s to the luscious blues, reds and yellows of just about everything else.

“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,” says Muino. “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.”

CREDITS

Creative Agency: Klarna
Director: Tanu Muino
DOP: Nikita Kuzmenko
Production Company: UnderWonder Content
Exec Producers: Frank Borin x Ivanna Borin
Producer: Robert Katz
Production Designer: Spencer Graves
Editor: Maury Loeb @ PS260
VFX: Mathematic
Colorist: Matt Osbourne @ Company3
Music & Sound Design: Yessian
Paris Hilton Stylist: Marta del Rio
Bretman Rock Stylist: Brian Melle