Can monsters make fraud protection fun? Mastercard thinks so

Fraud is invisible, technical, and easy to ignore. Until it happens. Mastercard is changing that with "Protected Monsters", a playful new campaign developed with Sticky Monster Lab that turns payments security and fraud protection into relatable stories rooted in everyday life.

The campaign brings Mastercard’s behind-the-scenes security capabilities to life across Southeast Asia, blending AI-powered motion capture, KOL-led storytelling, and shareable digital assets. Sticky Monster Lab, known for minimalist yet relatable characters that capture everyday human quirks and anxieties, designed the monsters to show how risks can quietly appear in familiar situations, from shopping and dining out to scrolling on phones.

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Rather than explaining fraud in technical terms, "Protected Monsters" uses humour and simplicity to make protection feel tangible and memorable. The monsters also appear in sticker packs, programmatic, in-game, and out-of-home placements, ensuring the message that fraud can happen anywhere, but protection is always on reaches consumers wherever they are.

KOLs took the concept further, transforming into AI-powered protected monsters to share relatable fraud close calls, while fans could engage through shareable stickers on social platforms such as TikTok and Meta.

“Fraud can hide in the simplest moments of everyday life. By using AI to transform real-life creators into protected monsters, we’ve created a world where protection feels friendly, intuitive and personal. The campaign reminds people that Mastercard’s multi-layered security is always working for them, so they can tap, pay and live with confidence,” said Dheeraj Raina, senior vice president, head of integrated marketing and communications, Southeast Asia, Mastercard.

In tandem, Dan Parmenter, creative director at McCann Singapore, added: “Everyone is susceptible to fraudsters, and the monsters from Sticky Monster Lab are a great fit to represent the part of us that sometimes falls for card fraud trickery. We had lots of fun turning these figures into protected versions of themselves and flipping anxiety into confidence with every Mastercard transaction.”

"Protected Monsters" marks a creative approach to security education, showing that even complex topics can be made approachable, shareable, and relevant to everyday consumer behaviour.

The campaign follows the brand's 2025 regional campaign, where it leaned into quiet storytelling and emotional resonance in favour of deeply human moments.

Moving away from tech-heavy tropes, the campaign featured three 15-second spots that captured fleeting, relatable moments of uncertainty. This included a mother startled by a thunderstorm rushing to calm her baby, a father frantically scanning a crowded train station for his daughter, and a solo traveler anxiously searching for their ride-hail vehicle.

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