I Wish I’d Bought It With Klarna feat. Celeste Barber - Klarna | Clapboard Ad Archive

Klarna’s 2019 campaign in The Netherlands, I Wish I’d Bought It With Klarna featuring Celeste Barber, presents a savvy narrative-driven approach that underscores the brand’s Pay Later service as a solution to the common anxiety of online shopping fails. Created by 72andSunny, this campaign leverages the comedic persona of Celeste Barber, who hosts a mini-series format that dramatizes her own misadventures with regrettable purchases to humanize and dramatize the pitfalls of e-commerce. The campaign’s core message—consumers only pay when they are happy with their purchase—directly addresses buyer’s remorse by providing a risk-free shopping experience, which is a crucial differentiator in the crowded finance and payment solutions market. This approach sits squarely in Clapboard’s FORMAT#8—Ongoing Characters or Celebrities—using Barber’s recognizability and relatable humor to build trust and sustained engagement rather than relying solely on product demonstration or conventional testimonial formats. Through three film assets, the campaign intertwines entertainment with practical advice, encouraging users to track payments and returns via the Klarna app, thereby reinforcing convenience and user control as pillars of the Klarna ecosystem. The integration of social media channels and hashtags like #IWIBIWK and #ShoppingFail amplifies audience interaction and positions Klarna as a culturally relevant brand attuned to the digital shopping landscape. Klarna’s narrative strategy effectively reframes the financial transaction as a hassle-free, consumer-friendly experience that invites experimentation without penalty, which resonates strongly with digitally savvy consumers wary of committing upfront. The campaign’s focus on reducing friction in online shopping aligns with Klarna’s broader ambition to redefine how finance intersects with retail, distinguishing it from competitors such as Afterpay, PayPal, Affirm, and Clearpay by emphasizing consumer empowerment through flexible payment options. Clapboard rates this campaign 64/100. This campaign matters to the industry because it demonstrates how finance brands can leverage episodic storytelling and celebrity partnership to humanize payment solutions and build lasting consumer trust in a category often perceived as transactional and impersonal.