How PayPal and Independent Creatives Worked to Capture this Year’s Holiday Spirit
People Performance Social Impact
The life of freelance and independent creatives like film directors, editors, artists, and writers can be simultaneously precarious and deeply fulfilling. Going from gig to gig, often without much of a financial safety net to fall back on, can be a small price to pay for the satisfaction of being your own boss and doing what you love. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and deep economic downturn that followed were devastating for many independent creatives, who suddenly saw much of their work delayed or stopped entirely. One analysis by the Brookings Institution estimated “losses of 2.7 million jobs and more than $150 billion in sales of goods and services for creative industries nationwide” from April through July of this year.
For PayPal, supporting and fueling small businesses is key to bringing people back to work and accelerating the recovery, and that extends to the creative community as well. As an example of how this translates into practice, PayPal partnered with Tongal and their worldwide community of independent creatives to produce this year’s global holiday campaign. The campaign’s hero video, “Make it One to Remember,” was helmed by up-and-coming director Kelsey Taylor, who also oversaw 47 creators across six countries to develop the concept and supporting digital content, including shorter product spots and localized versions for different markets.
“For us, investing in our communities and small businesses isn’t just talk, it’s our mission and at the core of our work. We’re extremely proud of the work Kelsey and the independent creative community at Tongal have 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,” said Jill Cress, PayPal’s Vice President, Growth Marketing Consumer Core Markets. “We love knowing that our digital payment products are being used every day by producers, editors, directors and our products are helping bring creatives back to work.”
Check out Kelsey guide the stars of the spot through some of the choreography: