ROLE: DIRECTOR
TYPE: sPEC COMMERCIAL
YEAR: 2024
CLIENT: KODAK & UnivERSITY OF WESTMINSTER
SUMMARY: A SPEC AD FOR XBOX, with a brief supplied by the mccann agency. this was made in collaboration with kodak, and shot entirely on film.
The brief was to advertise xbox beyond its typical consumer market of young gamers, depicting how the console and brand is accessible to all, and also incorporating an interpretation xbox's new tagline, ‘When everybody plays, we all win’. our team conducted research around gaming outside younger demographics, finding that elderly and disabled people face the highest barrier to entry in gaming, as well as the most difficulties faced when in the field.
we developed an initial treatment from a pitch by creative director tanya shamil, which revolves around a 'gaming-based theatre'. Our protagonist, a wheelchair user, is taken from a bustling green room filled with costumed game characters, through the busy backstage galleries, and finally onto the main stage where a roaring audience awaits them. the protagonist finds an xbox adaptive controller in front of them, and is soon joined on stage by other 'players' with controllers in hand, as they're about to step into a fierce competition.
The commercial, while advertising xbox's revolutionary adaptive controller which opened up gaming to several disabled users, also championed the company's commitment to accessibility and inclusivity in gaming, painting xbox as the forefront of the gaming world for all demographics.
