Mastercard is rethinking its iconic ‘Priceless’ campaign after nearly 30 years

Mastercard's new marketing push aims to give America's 36 million small businesses a morale boost as they face pressures ranging from increased energy prices triggered by war in the Middle East, tariffs that have upended supply chains, and higher labor and operating costs.

On Tuesday, the credit card company debuted its new campaign platform, called "Dreams," which will run across linear and connected television, social, streaming audio, and programmatic display. "Dreams" is timed to air in the months leading up to the New York City marathon, which is run on the first Sunday in November, and that's because Mastercard is putting the spotlight on two Brooklyn-based operations: The Meat Hook, a butcher shop, and Noble Signs, a design studio that makes vintage signs.

"What we wanted to recognize was the tenacity and determination. But we didn't want to just celebrate it, we wanted to actually tell that story," Jill Kramer, Mastercard's chief marketing and communications officer, tells Fast Company . "What's actually priceless is building that dream business."

That final line is a reference to Mastercard's most iconic ad campaign, "Priceless," which debuted in 1997 and aired during the Super Bowl and has had creative partnerships with Major League Baseball, Formula 1, and the Grammy Awards. "Priceless" has had such strong cultural relevance that it has been parodied on Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons .

"Dreams" presents a fresh opportunity for Kramer to showcase a different side of Mastercard's story, flipping the script to focus on the people behind the businesses that sell to consumers. Kramer joined Mastercard last December after 10 years at the consulting firm Accenture, succeeding Raja Rajamannar, who held the marketing and communications role for 13 years.

"I felt a lot of responsibility to be true to the heritage, but also, I said to my leadership, 'Can I interrogate Priceless?'" says Kramer. Commerce, she says, shouldn't be a narrow story, and within the broader sector, Mastercard's new CMCO says advertising has a tendency to get stuck in a "sea of sameness."

The financial services industry's advertising frequently focuses on what banks and credit card companies can make possible for a consumer: buying a new home, funding travel or enjoying cultural events, or aspirational goals, like supporting investments or retirement.