Apple has released a new Apple Pay commercial directed by filmmaker Edgar Wright, turning a fight inside a convenience store into a demonstration of how quickly customers can pay using an iPhone.
The ad, published on Apple’s official YouTube channel, follows a man who enters a store while being pursued by several opponents. The action is staged in the style of a martial arts movie, with fast cuts, exaggerated movements and everyday groceries used as improvised weapons.
Before anyone can leave with an item, the cashier insists that it must be paid for. The main character uses Apple Pay to complete each purchase almost immediately, while the other shoppers lose time searching through their wallets. One opponent takes his iPhone and tries to use it at the checkout, but the payment cannot be completed without Face ID authentication.
The confrontation ends when the main character buys a swordfish, prompting his opponents to abandon the fight. The sequence uses the contrast between tapping an iPhone and handling physical cards to emphasize the speed of Apple Pay, while the unsuccessful attempt to use the stolen phone highlights its authentication requirement.
Wright, whose credits include Baby Driver and Shaun of the Dead, is known for his tightly edited action sequences and visual storytelling. Apple credits him as the director of the commercial, which mixes those techniques with the company’s familiar focus on everyday product features.
Apple Pay allows customers to make contactless purchases on supported iPhones by double-clicking the side button, authenticating with Face ID or a passcode, and holding the device near a compatible payment terminal. The feature can also be used with Apple Watch and for purchases in supported apps and websites.
The new commercial follows another action-focused Apple Pay campaign in which a driver uses her iPhone to pay for fuel while escaping a giant monster. The Apple Post covered that earlier ad, which similarly used an unusual scenario to demonstrate the convenience of paying without reaching for a physical card.
