“We were an organization that was conservative creatively and, I think, very traditional in our media plans,” Jess Vultaggio said of her employer, Kraft Heinz, back in 2021 when she was head of strategy and development for the meal foundations and coffee unit. Since being named VP of marketing for the company in March 2022, Vultaggio seems to have made it her mission to change that.

And change it she did. Vultaggio has become a master at subverting established ideas about what she once called “dusty” old brands.

Case in point: Taking Velveeta, the processed cheese found primarily on children’s sticky fingers, and making it chic. In the campaign “La Dolce Velveeta,” there are no children to be found—instead, the cheese is associated with relaxing on a pool float, drinking tea out of a silver teapot, and, remarkably, martini glassware. 

Vultaggio also flipped consumer expectations on Oscar Mayer. When creative agency Johannes Leonardo came to the brand proposing to make bologna face masks, it was Vultaggio who rallied her partners to make it happen.

By the numbers, it seems her work has paid off. For instance, those Oscar Mayer face masks sold out in 24 hours, and led to a 22% increase in bologna sales on Amazon Fresh.

See all the 2023 Ad Age Creativity Awards winners.