A father and son go to a baseball game. A voice, provided by actor Billy Crudup, lists what the day costs: tickets, hot dogs, an autographed baseball. One source gives the prices as $28, $8 and $45. Then comes the last item on the list, a real conversation with an 11-year-old son, which is “priceless.”
The ad was the first of the “Priceless” campaign, created in 1997 by McCann Erickson. Joyce King Thomas led the creative effort. The slogan was “There are some things money can’t buy; for everything else, there’s Mastercard,” and it gave the brand one constant, recognizable message.
People started making their own versions almost as soon as the first spot ran, from posters to emails to short films, and the format was widely parodied. When Ralph Nader used it for political ads, Mastercard sued. According to Wikipedia, Nader won after a four-year legal battle when the court accepted his fair-use defense.
The campaign has been running ever since, and Mastercard registered “Priceless” as a trademark. Its idea is still simple: instead of selling a card, it sold the moments a card could not buy.
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