As part of the largest marketing investment since launch, Microsoft today announced a global integrated marketing campaign that reflects the change the Xbox brand is bringing to entertainment, to gaming, and to the way we play together. The broad gaming and entertainment experiences Xbox consumers enjoy with their friends and family are forcing a step change in the way people perceive the platform, and the campaign illustrates these moments through a variety of media and executions.

“Since the launch of the original Xbox, our platform has clearly won the hearts and minds of core gamers through top-rated franchises such as ‘Halo’ and ‘Gears of War’,” said David Gosen, VP Marketing, Xbox Europe.  “Our commitment to the core is unwavering and we continue to invest in the experiences that made Xbox what it is today, including our ongoing stellar 1st and 3rd party core gamer marketing efforts around titles such as ‘Gears of War 2’, ‘Fable II’, ‘Tomb Raider: Underworld’, and ‘Pro Evolution Soccer 2009’.

“Right now there’s a strategic imperative to broaden our audience and engage with more and more varied consumers than ever before,” said Gosen.  “We’re doing that with our broadest and strongest Christmas games line-up ever.  We’re speaking to consumers through a fully integrated consumer marketing campaign aimed at reaching the casual and social segments. It’s a defining time for Xbox 360, and this campaign will help change the way consumers feel about the brand and platform and create emotional engagement with new audiences.”

The Creative

The films were directed by Daniel Askill, who has created advertising campaigns for brands such as Air France, Hummer and Cadillac.  Askill has a strong reputation within the creative community, with Screen International asserting: “Askill has sealed his reputation as an extremely hot property” on the back of his award winning short film, We Have Decided Not To Die.

To create the magic of the Xbox experience, miniature sets were built rather than created in CGI.  The films were shot in Prague, which has a long history of miniature building, using a team of craftsmen. The level of detail in the miniatures is exquisite, from tiny lights that worked in each of the buildings in Lego Batman, to the stacks of speakers and intricate scaffolding in Rock Band 2, to the rows of tiny velvet chairs in the cinema set."