⚡ Backyard Nutcracker by Kelsey Taylor ⚡

PayPal has embraced the Tongal community to create award-winning tentpole global broadcast campaigns which utilize our international creative community to make a global impact. 

For the 2020 holiday season, the company turned to Tongal Creators to both ideate and execute their TV ad (above) which landed the #2 spot on Ad Age's Top 10 Holiday Ads list, based on testing by Ace Metrix that analyzed more than 300 holiday-themed ads.

From Ideation to Execution

⚡ Meet Tongaler Kelsey Taylor, the Creative Director behind the PayPal campaign ⚡

After greenlighting an idea from Tongaler Rebecca Swegle, a mom and teacher from San Antonio, Texas, PayPal engaged Los Angeles-based Tongal filmmaker Kelsey Taylor to create a 60-second ad that brought the idea to life.

The chosen concept featured a dad using PayPal to purchase all the things he needs to bring the famous Nutcracker ballet home for his dance-loving daughter, as families around the world faced the challenge of adapting their holiday traditions amid the COVID-19 lockdown.

Local Knowledge, Global Impact

⚡ Gingerbread House by Elliott Ruddy (Dublin, Ireland) ⚡

On top of directing the hero ad, Kelsey also served as the campaign's Creative Director, using the Tongal platform to discover five other directors from Ireland, India, the Netherlands, and the U.S. to create additional ads to target each specific region while maintaining the themes of the global campaign (see the Irish version, above).

In total, Tongalers delivered 137 videos for the Make it One to Remember campaign, which covered five PayPal products and were localized for eight countries, showcasing our platform's capability to mobilize our community of 160k+ creators, and produce campaigns with both local authenticity and global scale.

Talk about holiday magic!

“We're extremely proud of the work the independent creative community at Tongal has done for us. Make it One to Remember captures the love that goes into making the holidays magical for our families, and we're thrilled to share it with the world.”

Jill Cress, VP Growth Marketing, PayPal

Creator Spotlight

Kelsey Taylor

Kelsey Taylor is a director known for her versatile work in genres ranging from sci-fi to westerns. She began her career in cinematography before directing her breakthrough short film, Alien: Specimen, for 20th Century Fox, via the Tongal platform. Kelsey has directed commercials for brands including Volkswagen, Southwest Airlines, and her award-winning holiday spot for PayPal. Her upcoming feature, To Kill a Wolf, reimagines Little Red Riding Hood with darker themes. Selected as a 2024 Film Independent fellow, she continues to develop her unique storytelling voice.