There is an advert running on French televison at the moment that amazes me every time I see it.

One of the leading opticians in France, Afflelou, has a scheme called ‘NextYear’ in which you can order a pair of glasses now and pay for them next year. Not very exciting and nothing out of the ordinary. It’s a fun, feel-good advert that makes you want to join in with the dancing – before rushing off to get a new pair of specs, even if you can see perfectly well without.

But of course in the advert they don’t sing ‘buy now pay later’ or ‘get into debt before you lose your job’ – they dance up and down singing ‘next year’ over and over, as if the idea of buying something now and paying next year is the most exciting discovery since the invention of the baguette.

The ad even finishes with the catchphrase ‘Il fallait l’inventer’ (’it had to be invented’) – as if buying something on credit is an astonishing new invention.

I can only assume the advert must be a big success because the original version, filmed in a typical shopping centre, has now been replaced by one filmed in China. People skip gaily along the Great Wall of China, singing and dancing to celebrate the fact they don’t have to pay for their new glasses until 2010.

But even so to run an adverting campaign at the moment based entirely on the fact you can pay on credit seems, well, surprising. And to have it be very successful even more so. Perhaps customers don’t notice that ‘woo hoo NextYear’ is just a glamorous way of saying ‘woo hoo, borrow more money’.

Whatever, full credit to Affelou for pulling it off. I’m surprised they didn’t dismiss their marketing company when they came in suggesting ‘Hey let’s run a campaign based on ‘buy now, pay later’. Instead it seems they increased their budget and went rushing off to China instead – and amazingly they seem to have got it right!

Incidentally Credit Agricole, the French bank, also have a long-running campaign in which smiling bank managers sing to their customers about how happy they would be with a new loan.

Is it just me or does anyone else think singing and dancing is a curious way to promote loans and credit?