Sometimes, I Guess, the Scars Make the Man

MasterCard's "Priceless" is one of those campaigns you wanna milk as long as possible: it makes a statement about what people value, and potential variations are endless.

But the "product, price tag; product, price tag; sentiment = priceless" formula has gotten stale. And unfortunately for MasterCard, competitors like Visa and American Express have taken advantage of its stagnation to launch their own heart-wrenching commentaries on society.

Hoping to rekindle a weakening flame, MasterCard tapped MacLaren McCann/Toronto, which came up with "Timeline." It's the old "Priceless" story with a new twist: instead of dollar amounts -- which don't amount to much lately -- you're looking at a vocal chronology of scars.

Whose are they? They belong to Bobby Orr, Canadian ice hockey player. "Earning your place in history: priceless."

Meanwhile, variant "Pep Talk" holds the focus on pro-hockey but uses the old "product, price tag" formula. It is artfully absent of a pep talk.