What do you do when you’re a woman and want to propose to a man? Well wait until the 29th of February which comes around once ever four years (eight years if it’s the turn of the Century) is the common tradition. Other than that it’s down to the man to propose if we stick to what some would call outdated customs.
And what do you do when you’re a disruptive payments company, the pioneer and global leader of buy-now-pay-later and the future of shopping, and you want to get some publicity that doesn’t only come around once every four years? In the case of Klarna it’s literally to stick your finger up to tradition and then recruit arguably the biggest pop star in the world – Lady Gaga – to do likewise.
To give the finger to outdated traditions the ‘Knight Finger’ ring was recently launched by Klarna, together with fashion activist Bea Akerlund. Then, in the ultimate act of female empowerment, pop phenomenon Lady Gaga has put a ring on her own finger to celebrate that we are all free to propose to anyone at any time. She responded to Klarna’s message of empowerment by saying ‘yes’ to herself with her 180 million followers on social media as witness.
“For my entire career, I’ve taken pride in using my voice to stand up for what I believe is right. So, I am excited to work with my friend B. and Klarna to celebrate how far we’ve come as a culture and call out the work we need to continue to do. The idea that a woman can only propose to a man one day every four years is so completely ridiculous! Anyone who knows me knows that I believe any person of any gender identity should be able to express any act of love to anyone else on ANY day of ANY year. So, in an act of defiance of this outdated tradition, I decided to say yes to MYSELF! And wear this ring today with pride to remind myself and everyone that the only permission you need to love comes from within you.”
– Lady Gaga
“Just like Lady Gaga, we at Klarna believe that if traditions go unchallenged, the status quo prevails. Why should we settle and conform to societal and industry expectations just because? The Knight’s Finger ring was created as a symbol to enable everyone to express love on their terms to whom they wish, just like our millions of shoppers can get what they love every day with Klarna.”
– David Sandström, CMO, Klarna
“The Knight Finger was designed to inspire us all to fearlessly love on our own terms and cast aside traditions of the past to define our own futures.” says Åkerlund. Lady Gaga is a knight in shining armour, defeating all that stands in her way. She is TRULY an inspiration in creating her own rules to express her true self. It’s an honour that she chose to put my ring on her finger.”
– Bea Åkerlund, fashion activist and designer of the ‘Knight finger’ ring
