Create a short live-action or animated video that cleverly brings the PayPal monogram logo to life through an unexpected but authentic narrative.

NOW OPEN FOR WILDCARD VIDEOS UNTIL MONDAY, JULY 19TH @ 12:00PM PT

PayPal's monogram logo features two overlapping Ps, meant to communicate connectivity, and to symbolize PayPal's role in bringing you closer to what matters most to you. The logo also represents how customers and merchants all over the world come together, pay, and make donations using PayPal. In this project, PayPal wants to explore how the monogram logo can become a vibrant example of the empowering role that the brand plays in people's lives, so our goal is to tell a fun and particularly dynamic visual story using the logo, in the form of a short :06-:15 video, cleverly bringing the monogram logo to life through an unexpected but authentic visual narrative or framework. 

PayPal has identified FIVE concepts that they like as inspiration for a video, but these concepts are open for interpretation, and can be executed in any style - live action, 2D animation, 3D animation, stop motion, papercraft, etc. - and they're even open to more abstract interpretations. You can find information on those concepts in the Background/Additional Details section. As you'll see, each concept hints at a story, so the key thing here is that we want to do something really interesting with the logo, in a way that helps tell a small story.

We'd encourage you to submit multiple pitches, or at least denote backup Concepts, should PayPal respond to your overall creative approach and past work, but prefer another creator for the Concept you've selected. If you have any questions, ask away in the Project Forum. 

WILDCARD: PayPal will be selecting 5 Creators in the Pitch Phase, but if your pitch isn't selected, or if you don't have the chance to put together a pitch, you still have a chance to make a video. Any and all creators are invited to submit a WILDCARD VIDEO in the Video Phase, and PayPal will select 1 additional videos from the Wildcard submissions. By creating a Wildcard, you're taking a creative gamble, but it could have a big payoff, as each Wildcard video selected will receive full payment. As with Pitches, Videos must still adhere to the creative considerations and Executional Mandatories laid out for this Project.

DELIVERABLES:

• One :06-:15 logo video (16x9)
• One :06-:15 logo video (1x1) - You may simply crop your 16x9, but the logo must be safe. If easier for your execution, you may deliver a second 1x1-specific version if you prefer.

EXPOSURE: Winning videos be used on PayPal's owned channels, YouTube, social media, or other paid advertising. 

TARGET AUDIENCE: PayPal believes every person has the right to participate fully in the global economy, so this is aimed at a broad and inclusive global audience, as any consumer can use PayPal. Two key targets though:

• Parents - They represent a wider age range, early 30's to mid-40’s, but they have different concerns now starting and raising families. They're came to PayPal through a need to engage with digital commerce, or send money, and they use digital payments both for themselves, and on behalf of their children.
• Young Professionals - They're under 30, and have always enjoyed a digital first life. 

TONE: Aim to surprise & delight! Think bright, energetic, empowering, inspiring, optimistic, but relatable, authentic, and inclusive - with a hint of charm and wit. Not really looking for comedy, although we're open to something sweet or emotional. 

EXECUTIONAL MANDATORIES: 

• This is NOT an ad for a PayPal product or service, so you should not highlight any particular PayPal product, or the app. However, you may show a PayPal button during a checkout purchase sequence.
• Your video MUST include the PayPal logo, and the logo should be on screen for a minimum of 3 seconds. The logo must be distinct and readable, and visually distinct from the background (i.e. the logo should not completely blend into the environment—it’s an essential part of the spot). 
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    • While the outline of the logo itself should not change, the design of the PayPal logo is open for interpretation though, and PayPal is specifically looking for a unique style to come through.
    • The “walls” of the logo can be broken if you choose (i.e. a character stepping through the logo; a vine growing beyond the edges of the logo, etc.).
• AVOID text copy that isn’t related to PayPal. PayPal is a global brand, and we don't want to be tied too closely to English, or any language. That said, if text is necessary and organic to the narrative of the story, that's fine.

Shooting live action or stop motion? Our priority is ensuring everyone's safety, and we're now requiring a COVID safety protocol plan for all relevant productions. Please review our COVID-19 Production Safety Guide and check federal, state, and local rules before and during your shoot to make sure your on-set protocols are up to date. We're working hard to keep people working during this extraordinary time, and you should ensure your submission is executable within the anticipated timeline and budget, while also ensuring everyone's safety.

VIDEO CONCEPTS - Your pitch must address how you would execute a :06 - :15 video, based on one of the following concepts. Please note: you do NOT need to follow each story exactly, and how you plan to bring each moment to life is up to you:

CONCEPT 1 - LEMONADE STAND - A customer uses PayPal to pay for lemonade a kid's lemonade stand. The kids use PayPal to purchase a unique tea online, and later offer both lemonade & tea at their stand. PayPal logo is created in or around a lemonade stand!

CONCEPT 2 - BACKYARD GARDEN - A father uses PayPal to purchase tools, plants, or decor to create a backyard garden for his family. PayPal logo is created by the garden! 

CONCEPT 3 - STARGAZING - A father & daughter use PayPal to make a purchase for stargazing - such as a telescope, snacks, transportation, or even a constellation identifier app. PayPal logo is revealed among the stars!

CONCEPT 4 - BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION - A group of friends use PayPal to purchase gifts, food, cake, or even decorations for a birthday celebration. PayPal logo is revealed at the party in some way!  

CONCEPT 5 - COOKING TOGETHER  - Parent & child watch a cooking show together. The child is fascinated, and the parent uses PayPal to purchase some sort of cooking utensil or ingredients. We later see both parent & child cooking together, and perhaps making a mess. PayPal logo is revealed from the ingredients! 

It may be helpful to think about how a particularly interesting character might use PayPal for a purchase, or how PayPal might factor into a unique situation, and then imagine how the purchase might be incorporated into the monogram design in a very visual way. In the garden example above, we might see a garden full of tulips in the shape of the PP monogram. Someone making furniture could reveal a wood framed PP, or gamer could find themselves using PP as a power-up before the big boss. You can even think more abstractly.

Other brands that have explored a similar area most famously are MTV and Channel 4 in Britain. In both cases, there are DOZENS of executions, and we want that kind of variety.

REFERENCE VIDEOS: The examples below don't all (or often) try to tell a story; mostly, they just introduce the logo in an interesting way. However, their brand objectives are much different than PayPal's, so they're helpful if you think about how the logos are consistently reimagined in clever and unexpected ways, and reflect the narrative. 

• MTV Logo Examples
• BBC Channel 5 Logo examples
• SYFY Logo Examples:
  • Sweet Holidays
  • Mutant Flower
    
  • Post-Apocalyptic Workshop
  • Monster Meetup
    
  • Dear Diversity
  • Back to SYFY Academy
  • Mystery Meat

In order to be considered for this project, you must include the below materials in your pitch submission. For examples of effective pitches, check out this gallery.

• TEXT (REQUIRED): 500 characters or less synopsizing how you plan to approach and execute this video.

• LOGO CONCEPT (REQUIRED): Please select which concept your video will be inspired by.
  
  
• LINKS (REQUIRED): To your previous video work. Please specify your role (producer, director, cinematography, etc.) and DO NOT INCLUDE LINKS TO YOUR SHOWREEL. Please link to individual videos.
  
  
• TREATMENT (REQUIRED): A detailed narrative description of what's going to happen in the video. If it's helpful to you, we've provided a treatment template, which you can find here.

• PITCH VIDEO (Optional): This is your opportunity to be face-to-face with the Sponsor and show them what you're capable of. Consider submitting a pitch video in which you tell the Sponsor what they can expect should they choose your pitch. Also, test videos, animatics, etc. are welcome. For some examples of effective Pitch videos, check out this gallery. All Pitches will remain private until after the Sponsor gives creator(s) the green light to move forward.

The most compelling pitches will be greenlit, and upon completing the Winner Affidavit and the IP Assignment, the responsible creator will receive funding & product to create their video suite. Please note: the payment of the pitch funds is subject to a payment schedule determined by Tongal. Please see the full payment schedule in the Assets section.

PRE-PRODUCTION REQUIREMENTS: Prior to shooting, filmmakers must receive the below approvals from the Sponsor.

• TREATMENT - This project requires Treatment approval before filmmakers can move onto the Video Phase. The treatment should describe in detail how you plan to execute the short narrative (if any) in your video, and how you plan to bring the storytelling to life visually. You should include graphic and tonal references when possible. The sponsor may provide feedback on your treatment and ask you to submit a new version. There may be multiple rounds of feedback until a treatment is approved by the Sponsor.

WILDCARDS: Any and all creators are invited to submit a Wildcard Video during the Video Phase, and PayPal will select ONE additional video from the Wildcard submissions. Wildcard Videos must adhere to the creative considerations and Executional Mandatories laid out  for this Project. Each Wildcard selected will receive a full payment of $2,000 for their video upon completing the Winner Affidavit and the IP Assignment. 

BUILDING YOUR TEAM: Tongal supports inclusivity in all of our productions and strongly encourages you to hire diverse talent for your team. To find staff & crew in your area, check out these resources and partners.

For your convenience, we’ve provided some helpful templates to use at your discretion. They include templates for creating a treatment, production budget, storyboards, shot list, call sheet, and a music cue sheet. Additionally, there are templates that will help you clearly present cast, location, and wardrobe options to the Sponsor. They can all be accessed here.

REVISION REQUIREMENTS: Once the Video Phase has closed, the greenlit submitters will enter the Revisions Phase. Filmmakers will perform reasonable edits on their videos according to the Sponsor’s feedback.

MUSIC: Tongal has partnered with three premiere music providers: Jingle Punks, Universal Production Music and Epidemic Sound, any of which can be used to source music for your video submission to this project. Music from these providers is available to registered Tongal members at no charge solely for their incorporation into submissions to this project and will not require a separate Music Release Form. To learn more about using each of these music providers, click on any of the providers’ names above. 

If you choose to use custom/original music, you must fill out and submit our Music Release Form. If you obtain music from third-party catalog providers, you must purchase the appropriate license at your own expense and submit it with your license purchase receipt when you turn in your video paperwork.

ASSET DELIVERY REQUIREMENTS: You must also provide all project files, editing sequences and a 1080p .mov master file, using a ProRes, Animation, or Uncompressed Codec in order to submit final payment.  In addition to the project files, you are also required to provide all raw footage. You are responsible for the costs associated the hard drive and shipping.

For Tongal’s file delivery specs and any other questions you may have about post production, please click here.

1. Preferred format for upload to the Tongal website is HD 720p 16x9. Acceptable file formats are .mov, .avi, .mp4, .wmv. Acceptable codecs are H.264 (MP4), MPEG-4, H.263, MPGV, WMV, DivX. Should your submission be greenlit, you will also be required to provide a 1080p .mov master file, using a ProRes, Animation, or Uncompressed Codec.
   
   
2. Unless provided otherwise, all work must be your own original creation and free of any copyrighted material. You shall provide detailed information of your work regarding the source, the creator and background information as requested by Tongal.
   
   
3. In the event you utilize any third-party materials, such as music provided by a third-party music provider not provided by Tongal, you must obtain full written license and consent from the owner of such third-party materials and provide such license and consent forms to Tongal.
   
   
4. BY SUBMITTING A VIDEO ENTRY, YOUR SUBMISSION IMMEDIATELY BECOMES THE SOLE PROPERTY OF TONGAL OR ITS ASSIGNEES – SEE OFFICIAL RULES FOR MORE DETAILS ABOUT OWNERSHIP OF ENTRIES. YOU MAY NOT PUBLICLY SHARE OR PUBLISH YOUR SUBMISSION IN ANY MANNER AND YOU MAY NOT POST OR UPLOAD YOUR SUBMISSION TO ANY WEBSITE OR VIDEO HOSTING SITE (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, FACEBOOK, YOUTUBE OR VIMEO), WITHOUT THE PRIOR EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT OF TONGAL. FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THIS REQUIREMENT MAY RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION OF YOUR ENTRY IN THE PROJECT.
   
   
5. You may not contact any employees or members of the Sponsor’s organization, their affiliates, or any of their partners. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in disqualification of your entry in the project.
   
   
6. Submissions cannot contain any profanity, offensive language, nudity or otherwise objectionable material, the determination of which is solely at the discretion of Sponsor.
   
   
7. Submissions must not portray Sponsor in a negative way, the determination of which will solely reside with Sponsor.
    
8. By submitting to this project, you acknowledge that your work may become subject to public voting on the Tongal site. Public voting may be used to help the project sponsor determine the final rank order.
    
9. Videos must be in the English language or subtitled.
    
10. Limit 5 submissions per member, per Phase.
     
11. You must be at least thirteen (13) years or older to enter.
    
    
12. The Sponsor reserves the right to repost the contest.
    
    
13. In addition to the judging criteria stated in the OFFICIAL RULES, Pitches will also be evaluated on that member's ability to execute the final Video based on their prior work and experience as a filmmaker.
    
    
14. The Sponsor will be entitled to reasonable revisions on the finished Videos without providing additional compensation. Remember it's easier to re-edit than re-shoot so try to get as much coverage as possible.
    
    
15. In addition to the standard Tongal W-9, Winner Affidavit, and IP Assignment, greenlit Video creators MUST also provide Talent, Location, Music (or other) Releases for all assets appearing in their Videos, as well as a photograph/headshot OR copy of a photo ID for all On-camera Talent releases. You must also provide all project files, editing sequences and a 1080p .mov master file, using a ProRes, Animation, or Uncompressed Codec to claim your earnings.
    
    
16. See OFFICIAL RULES for additional contest information, terms and conditions. If there is any conflict or inconsistency between these requirements and the Official Rules, the terms and conditions of these requirements shall prevail.