PayPal Enters Super Bowl Ad Game

PayPal Holdings, the online-payment company, disclosed that it will advertise in the Big Game for the first time. PayPal said it has purchased an unorthodox spot from CBS, the network that will broadcast Super Bowl 50 on Sunday, February 7, 2016. Most companies buy Super Bowl ads in 30-second or 60-second increments, but PayPal said it bought 45 seconds of time, slated to air during the first quarter of the game.

PayPal, however, is not an entrepreneur looking for its first big splash of publicity or a fledgling brand just starting to make its way. The company was established in 1998, but was spun off from eBay as an independently traded company earlier this year.

The company said it was drawn by the fact that Super Bowl 50 will be broadcast from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, close to Silicon Valley. PayPal is based in San Jose.

“The launch of this ad is just the beginning of our new brand campaign designed to start a larger conversation about a re-imagined financial world that must include everyone,” said Greg Fisher, vice president of global marketing at PayPal, in a prepared statement.

The Los Angeles office of ad agency CP+B crafted the spot for PayPal.