Ask a Super Bowl advertiser: Google’s Taylor Acampora

In 2019, Taylor Acampora ’20 MBA was a Kellogg student watching the Super Bowl with her classmates and learning how to use Kellogg’s lauded ADPLAN framework to rate the year’s biggest commercials.

Four years later, she found herself dusting off the ADPLAN framework again — this time from the other side of the screen as a senior product marketing manager for Google Pixel, as she reviewed final cuts of its 2023 Super Bowl commercial “Fixed on Pixel.” An instant hit, the ad was stacked with celebrity cameos from Amy Schumer to Doja Cat and showed off the Pixel phone’s ability to magically fix less-than-perfect pictures.

When current Kellogg students participating in the school’s noted Super Bowl Ad Review gave the Pixel spot an A, the full-circle moment felt “especially rewarding,” says Acampora. “I was so nervous about what our rating would be! I wanted to make sure I was doing Kellogg proud in the ad I was working on. It was such a joy to see that the Kellogg students this past year rated our Google ad as their favorite of the night.”

With the Super Bowl fast approaching, Acampora sat down with us to share how her Kellogg experiences helped her deliver a great ad when the whole world was watching.

It wasn’t actually that long between when you were a Kellogg student reviewing ads in 2019 to when you worked on Google’s commercial last year. What insights were fresh in your mind from your MBA experience as you worked on the ad?

So, I was involved in the Pixel Super Bowl campaign from the inception of the brief to reviewing different prototype concepts, to actually being on set and then reviewing the multiple rounds of cuts throughout the process to land on the final edit that made it to the Super Bowl. 

I brought in Kellogg marketing in a number of different ways: One, at the brief process, we were making sure that we were bringing in insights into what we wanted to actually feature in the ad and what had resonated so far. Obviously, when you are going to make a Super Bowl ad, you are spending a lot of money, so you want to ensure that the message is going to land. We had insights that blurry photos and photobombers were two key consumer pain points, so we had tested this "Fixed on Pixel" concept around the time we launched the phone and the idea of easily editing old photos seemed to really resonate. That was a good signal that the “Fixed on Pixel” concept was a good one. 

When I was actually on set with creatives, my key role was making sure that the product was being represented accurately, while also ensuring we were landing the benefits of the product. Then in the post-production process, that's where I actually brought in the ADPLAN framework to make sure that I was evaluating it objectively. The framework gave me a checklist to make sure that the spot was landing what we wanted it to land. 

For those who might not have attended Kellogg’s Super Bowl Ad Review event before, can you share what the atmosphere is like?

What I remember most from the Super Bowl ad review was the excitement and passion from everyone in the room. It's such a memorable experience to sit in a room filled with people just as excited about good marketing and creative as you.

What was it like working on the “Fixed on Pixel” spot for Google?

It was a highlight of my career and probably will be for some time! I’ve worked on a lot of commercials in my career, and what's really special about working on a Super Bowl ad is that for one, it's really cool to work on an ad that one is being watched by over 100 million people at the same moment, and two, it's a night where people actually want to watch the ads and don't want to skip them.

What insights about marketing did you learn at Kellogg that you have used in your career since?

Something that has really stuck with me is Kellogg’s focus on having a consumer-centric mindset and an insights-driven marketing strategy. Knowing your consumer and user deeply not only leads to more effective marketing strategy, but it also allows you to influence the products being developed so that you can have a more compelling product to market in the future as well.

The Kellogg Super Bowl Ad Review is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. What do you changes do you think the next 20 years have in store for the marketing field?

I think that in the next 20 years, as Gen Z becomes a bigger force in the economy, I expect more marketing that showcases brands values. As Gen Z is socially conscious, they care about a brand’s values and they want to vote with their dollar.

If you could say anything to your former professors, what would you say?

I am grateful that Professor Calkins and Professor Rucker have established a tradition that is not only impactful and memorable for current students participating, but also keeps alumni like myself engaged. I always look forward to seeing the results every year.

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