Principles

But what is priceless? It’s universal, it’s constant, and everyone knows it when they see it. (Or hear it, or feel it.)

The best way to define priceless is to think of it as an emotional outcome — a magical, oftentimes unexpected result, rooted in tension and insight.

Consider the original priceless television spot from 1997 as the definitive working definition of priceless: Going to a baseball game is just going to a baseball game.

But, when you’re at that game, having a real conversation with your 11-year-old son, that is priceless. This lands the tension that life is busy and sometimes can get in the way of meaningful moments that you love, but this baseball game created an opportunity for true connection.

Priceless is a key that unlocks opportunities for creative work that no other company can touch.

Therefore, every piece of creative work we do should make people feel something. Make them laugh. Or smile. It should touch them. Or surprise them, in a big or little way. Work like that will make people feel more connected to Mastercard than they were before.

Look for something in culture that can inspire your project. Look for a trend or find a human insight. And don’t stop looking until you find it.

Priceless is not simply a thing, a perk, a line or an experience. When everything comes together, in a personal and shared way, to create a moment so magical that you will carry it with you forever, that is priceless.

Priceless is usually relatable to others, ranging from universal, to the specific intended audience.

A trip with your immigrant mother to her homeland is very broadly relatable, great for a brand-level campaign. A round of golf with your college buddies that you haven’t seen in ten years could be relatable to a campaign targeting golfers.

Priceless is generally timeless.

For example: if we had a partnership with a cutting-edge video game, we’d focus on something timeless the game allows for, like bringing together old college friends on opposite sides of the country to chat and battle once a week.

Priceless is frequently intangible; it’s usually an experience, or a moment, or an outcome.

If an object is priceless, it is probably because of what that object represents — maybe it’s something from childhood, or maybe it’s a ticket stub after the best concert of your life, or it’s a family relic passed down on your wedding day.

Priceless almost always tells a story; it’s not just an isolated moment.

A teen getting a car on their 18th birthday is fun, but not necessarily priceless. A teen working nights for years to afford a car on their 18th birthday is closer. A teen working for years to afford a car, then surprising her dad with a road trip vacation? That’s priceless.

It’s also helpful to consider what is not priceless:

Priceless, by definition, is not something you can quantify — the price tag of something is not the priceless part.

Priceless should not require mental gymnastics. It must not be overly complex — priceless should strike a balance between clever, and simple.

Priceless is not a discount off a popular store or ticket. Just because it's not available to most people, doesn't make it priceless. E.g. Courtside seats are exclusive, but available to purchase so not inherently priceless on their own.

Just because something is fancy or expensive doesn’t automatically make it priceless — you can’t simply say this vacation to Italy is priceless. But you could say taking my grandfather to see his childhood home in Tuscany is priceless.

Priceless is an adjective, but we typically do not use priceless immediately before a noun, like “a priceless conversation” or “a priceless celebration." It is generally reserved only for "priceless experiences" as part of priceless.com materials.

A short summary:

Priceless should strike a balance between clever and simple
Just because it’s fancy or expensive doesn’t automatically make it priceless
We almost never use priceless as an adjective before a noun (i.e. “I just had a priceless conversation”)

From a purely structural perspective, a priceless line is almost always a single sentence that describes a priceless aspect of something.

Priceless lines almost always come at the end of TV and radio spots as a "payoff" to the story and should not introduce a new topic. They are often incorporated in OOH and print ads and are frequently used as the summarizing point of creative work across every medium.

There is only one acceptable syntactical format for a priceless line: the word priceless must stand alone, introduced by a colon. See the example on the right.

This format was established in the original priceless commercials, and is crucial to maintaining the magic and equity of the brand.

Here’s an example of a hypothetical priceless line:

The feeling of priceless is magic. So, it is to be expected that the creative act of making a priceless line feels a little magical, too — the approach can vary wildly, depending on the writer, the task, and the medium.

There is no formula for priceless. Typically, thinking of a priceless line can be very non-linear. However, there are common approaches that creatives use:

What’s an impediment to priceless in life? What’s a creative way to overcome it?
- This framework is easily applied to the original priceless ad, Baseball — the difficulty of having authentic conversation with preteens/teenagers.
What’s an unexplored opportunity for priceless in life? Consider environments and activities that are surprising, yet authentic.
- Things like sunsets or gender reveals are almost cliché. Consider life's other triumphs — a man does physical therapy after a skiing injury, then finally hits the slopes again... to teach his kids to ski; an art student works tirelessly to finish a piece for an art opening, and reveals that it's a portrait of her mom who's in attendance; a retirement-age birdwatching couple goes on a hike and, right as they're about to get in the car to leave, they finally see a bird they've been searching for
What is a modern twist on a timeless insight?
- For example, what does “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” mean through the lens of preserving nature? Supporting small biz? Or playing online games?

Here’s some more examples of good “twists” for hypothetical examples:

Too expected

Having family dinner together: priceless
Finally getting the car you dreamed about as a teenager: priceless.
Learning to surf: priceless

Surprising twist

Impressing grandma with her own recipe: priceless
When the family sedan becomes their sedan: priceless
Your 1st first wave, after 71 tries: priceless

While using a colon is mandatory for all visual representations of priceless lines, there can be allowances in voice-over for video and audio:

For audio-only formats (like radio or podcast reads) we can allow for different constructions — ”X is priceless,” “Going to X? That’s priceless.” depending on space and time limitations. The goal should always be to prioritize clarity.

"Because seeing the super hero you can be, that's priceless."

Similarly, in video formats that have accompanying voiceover (TVC, etc.), we can allow for slight variation to the voice-over. For example, a TV spot could have:

SUPER — ”Helping the next generation find their voice: priceless”
VO — “Because helping the next generation find their voice is priceless.”

It is recommended in all instances to get voiceover reads that match the colon exactly as alternative options, for coverage.

From a purely structural perspective, a priceless line is almost always a single sentence that describes a priceless aspect of something.

Priceless lines almost always come at the end of TV and radio spots as a "payoff" to the story and should not introduce a new topic. They are often incorporated in OOH and print ads and are frequently used as the summarizing point of creative work across every medium.

There is only one acceptable syntactical format for a priceless line: the word priceless must stand alone, introduced by a colon. See the example on the right.

This format was established in the original priceless commercials, and is crucial to maintaining the magic and equity of the brand.

These examples are references for powerful priceless lines and should not be used as creative references.

Ireland | 1997

Ireland | 1998

Arrivals | 2006

Cardboard Box | 2012

Pirate | 2013

This is Your Game MLB | 2022

Black Panther | 2022

The following examples span the last quarter-century (and counting) of Mastercard spots. Consequently, please do not mimic the copy or visual structures, as they may be outdated. Instead, please consider this a compendium of best-in-class work that brings priceless to life in many different ways.