Star Wars Blurs With Reality in This Compelling Ad About a Daughter and Father

Some narrative ads imply a lot more than they directly tell, which can be a creative risk when you've only got a minute or so to craft an entire story. Agency 215 McCann walks that line through a combination of craft and compelling characters with its "Become a Jedi" spot for the newest Star Wars video game. The ad, created for the Xbox One edition of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, begins with a young woman approaching an industrial site via abandoned railroad tracks, and as she nears, conflict seems inevitable. Soon the worlds of fantasy and reality are blurred as we see the world around her through the lens of her imagination. Before we spoil anything, though, let's take a look at the full spot: [kickout id="1"] There's a lot going unsaid in the ad, such as the specifics of her relationship with her father. Are they close-knit? Grown apart? Obviously she seems to come around his work space often enough to know his crew well, but there's an implication that he's reluctant to join the fun himself. Is mom still in the picture, or does his expression, coupled with the photos on the wall, hint at something more tragic? In some cases, such gaps in the overt storytelling could detract from your ability to enjoy the ad, but at its core, it's a heartwarming scenario that's easy to follow regardless of the backstory. "The central premise of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is based on the iconic hero's journey of becoming a Jedi," says says Charlie Hauser, global brand director for game developer Respawn. "That journey—fraught with danger, suspense, whimsical humor, and wonder—was our north star for marketing. We wanted to bring that fantasy to life with a live-action spot which indulges every Star War fan's childhood dreams of swinging a lightsaber and harnessing the power of the Force." The spot made its debut today during Microsoft's X019 event in London, with the video being livestreamed to an audience estimated in the millions. The ad also hints at some specific aspects of the Fallen Order game, which launches Friday. The small droid is BD-1, a faithful sidekick in the video game, while the imaginary world around our hero is the game's setting, the planet Bracca. In the closing moments, we see the game's antagonist, Second Sister, and her Purge Troopers. Of course, this isn't the first Star Wars ad to take the approach of blending the real and fictional worlds. In 2015, Duracell and agency Anomaly created a stellar spot about Christmas morning in the minds of two light saber-wielding siblings. And BBH New York knocked the concept out of the park in 2017 with its spot about a lifelong rivalry between young neighbors for the game Star Wars Battlefront II. "Become a Jedi" is a worthy addition to this sub-genre of advertising, though there's admittedly one big disconnect between the ad's concept of shared play—culminating in the girl's father arriving to participate—and the fact that Fallen Order doesn't actually have multiplayer gameplay. So while the ad appears to be a celebration of playing together, it's actually promoting a very solo gaming experience. But hey, maybe dad will at least tag out parallel save games with her. Either way, it's nice to see that he's there to support her interests, and even nicer that his coworkers are willing to let her wipe the floor with them. CREDITS: Brand: Xbox ft. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Creative title: “Become a Jedi” Client: Microsoft Xbox / Electronic Arts / Respawn Entertainment / Lucasfilm Ltd. Client: Microsoft / Xbox Xbox, General Manager, Integrated Marketing: Rob Matthews Xbox, General Manager, Brands and Advertising: Taylor Smith Xbox, Director, Brand and Integrated Marketing: Craig McNary Xbox, Sr. Integrated Marketing Manager: Josh Munsee Xbox, Sr. Marketing Manager, 3rd Party Games: Kathy Richardson Xbox, Marketing Manager, 3rd Party Games: Michelle Fears Xbox, Sr. Product Marketing Manager, Hardware: Theresa Van Den Boogaard Client: EA / Respawn EA, CMO, Marketing Publishing and Analytics: Chris Bruzzo EA, SVP, Global Brand Management: Jason Bunge EA, Sr. Director, Global Brand Marketing: Arturo Castro EA, Director, Global Brand Marketing: Charlie Hauser EA, SVP, Marcom & CMO Managing Director: David Tinson EA, VP, Marcom Strategy: Charles Kha EA, Creative Director: Neel Upadhye EA, Sr. Director, Marcom Production: Angelo Ferrugia EA, Sr. Manager, Production: Margaret Meo EA, Lead Video Producer: Christopher Beckett EA, Sr. Manager, Marcom Strategy: Alexandre Scriabine EA, VP, Marcom Activation: Stuart Lang EA, Executive Assistant: Jovanna Piazza EA, Sr. Director, Global Activation: Andrew Wong EA, Director, Global Activation: Angela Sun EA, Global Activation Lead: Joe Gatdula EA, Global Activation Associate: Clay Bradshaw Respawn, Head of Respawn: Vince Zampella Respawn, COO: Dusty Welch Respawn, Game Director: Stig Asmussen Respawn, Sr. Producer: Kasumi Shishido Respawn, Producer: Jordan Klein Client: Lucasfilm Ltd. Lucasfilm Ltd., Director, Brand Marketing: Matt Shell Lucasfilm Ltd., Manager, Brand Marketing: Anthony Rodriguez Agency: 215 McCann Chief Creative Officer: Scott Duchon Creative Director: Nichole Geddes Sr. Copywriter: Gabe Sherman Sr. Art Director: Shawn Raissi Director of Integrated Production: Mandi Holdorf Sr. Producer: Gabby Gardner Producer: Christina Chin Director of Business Affairs: Mary Beth Barney Business Director: Peter Goldstein Management Supervisor: Devina Hardatt Account Supervisor: Harold McKeon Assistant Account Executive: Paige Kane Director of Strategy: Brian Wakabayashi Strategy Director: Cassidy Wilber Strategist: Christian Stewart Production Company: Reset Content Director: Garth Davis Managing Director: Dave Morrison Executive Producer: Deannie O’Neil Executive Producer: Jen Beitler Head of Production: JP Colombo Line Producer: Megan Moore Director of Photography: Matthew Libatique Production Designer: Jay Pooley Make-Up: Christine Kohut Costume Designer: Adelle Gaudet Stunt Coordinator: Tom Struthers Editorial: Cartel Edit Editor: Leo Scott Cutting Assistant: Matt Berardi Assistant Editor: Collen McKay Executive Producer: Lauren Bleiweiss Producer: Samantha Axelrod Music Composition: Composer: Blake Robinson Mixing: Steve Kaplan Orchestration: Gordy Haab and Carl Rydlund Audio Mix & Sound Design: Skywalker Sound Sound Designer / Re-Recording Mixer: Steve Boeddeker Foley Artist: Jana Vance Foley Mixer: Frank Rinella Engineering Services: Dusty Jermier Digital Editorial Support: Ivan Piesh Post-Production Sound Accountant: Renée Russo Post-Production Finance Manager: Mike Peters Client Services: Eva Porter Scheduling: Carrie Perry Director of Production: Jon Null Head of Engineering: Steve Morris Head of Production: Jon Null General Manager: Josh Lowden VFX: Industrial Light & Magic Post VFX Supervisor: Sherry Hitch Onset VFX Supervisor: Jonathan Rothbart VFX Associate Producer: Yimi Tong VFX Editor: Jenni O'Byrne CG Supervisor: Leandro Estebecorena Executive Producer: Jill Brooks Animation Supervisor: Delio Tramontozzi Animators: Philip Barnard Dave Logan Nathan Thomas Creature TD: John Niforos Layout Supervisor: Marla Newall Layout Artists: Janice Chan Melissa Mullin Gurpreet Pannu Luke Spence Byrd Xiaoxuan Sun Particle TDs: Thomas Bevan Mihai Cioroba Lead Generalist – Environments: Shane Roberts Generalists – Environments: Kevin Page Adam Watkins Lighting TDs: Kevin Reuter Yegor Swarovski Compositors: Tigran Badalyan Michael Conte Larkin Flynn Ravi Kasumarthy YunJung Ko Alison Lake Michael Ranalletta Ronnie Williams Jr. Digital Paint & Roto Supervisor: Michael Van Eps Digital Paint & Roto Artists: Beth D'Amato Robert Dorris Katie Morris Model/Texture Artists: Mark Keetch Mark Marcin Associate Pipeline TD: Katherine Sanchez Coordinators: Rebecca Norton Andrew Martin Lane Howard Yegor Tesler Production Assistant: Jessica Tong Finishing: Lucasfilm / Lucas Video Production Producer / Sr Manager, Creative Content & Commercial Production: Trisha Brunner Sr Manager, Technical Operations & Video Asset Management: Kevin Parker Colorist: Sean Wells Online Editor: Amir Hosseinzadeh Coordinator: Janet Lee Production Assistant: Rene Castro