EBay brands itself as a place to 'shop the world'

E-commerce site eBay is kicking off a global branding campaign that aims to draw attention to the wide array of goods it has available ahead of the holiday shopping season.

It's the first time eBay has created a campaign with the same message across four of its biggest markets: the U.S., Australia, Germany and the U.K., with more countries expected to be added in 2015. And it comes as eBay preps for a split next year with payments unit PayPal, its fastest growing segment.

Central to the campaign is an ad that will run in 15-, 30- and 60-second versions that shows goods like a surfboard and a smartphone in action in scenes around the world, as well as iconic images like Dorothy's red shoes in the "Wizard of Oz" and the guitar of rock legend Jimi Hendrix. Then it cuts to items shoppers were inspired to buy.

"It's a great big world and it can all be yours here and only here," a voiceover states.

The goal is to put eBay at the forefront of shoppers' minds leading up to the holiday season, said Chief Marketing Officer Richelle Parham.

The campaign aims to "drive great traffic into the eBay stores of our sellers," she said. The company, which is based in San Jose, California, doesn't sell items itself but provides the platform for third parties to sell goods.

Parham added that the campaign will help people understand the "real eBay" as it works to shed its image as an auction site and become known globally as an overall e-commerce retailer. Parham noted that 80 percent of the items on the site are new and 78 percent are fixed-price merchandise.

The ad starts running on TV and online Monday.

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