This Wonderfully Bonkers Xbox Game Pass Ad Is Memetastic

The new ad for Xbox Game Pass is a lot like the movie Inception, made specifically for people who spend tons of their waking hours playing Zombie Army Trilogy. “It’s a meme within a meme within a meme,” said Geordie Larratt-Smith, account director at the brand’s agency, Ayzenberg Group. It’s also kind of unhinged, in a totally entertaining way, and a purposefully anti-marketing-speak way to introduce new Game Pass channels on Twitter and Instagram. [kickout id="1"] The spot, which debuted Wednesday, opens with a sympathetic, big pharma-like voice-over to set up a 21st century (first world) problem: You’re adrift. You’re staring vacantly into the abyss. You’re stressed and tired. You question the very fabric of time, space and existence. In short, your life feels like “a series of mediocre stock videos.” That sequence, not coincidentally, is illustrated with a series of mediocre stock videos. There’s a solution to this ennui, of course, and its name is Xbox Game Pass, a Netflix-like all-you-can-eat subscription that serves up more than 100 games for $10 a month. It debuted about a year ago with brash actor-comedian-pitchman Danny McBride riffing on the brand’s “more is better” theme. To launch two new Twitter and Instagram channels, execs decided “to let the creative go wild,” said Devin Moore, Microsoft’s global marketing manager. “We’re putting a stake in the ground and saying we’re here to communicate with our fans in a voice and tone they recognize.” That voice and tone, which truly unleashes after the calming intro, goes high concept and high energy, including the “existential” benefits of gaming and tidbits of popular titles like State of Decay 2, Fallout 4, Rise of Tomb Raider and Farming Simulator 15. (“Corn on the coooooooob,” says the high-decibel pro-wrestling-meets-monster-truck announcer). Moore said the channels will be “a breeding ground for intricate social media tactics,” and a way for the brand to “create relationships with fans.” Ayzenberg, which kicked off Game Pass in summer 2017, had a long leash for the work and took cues from team members’ day-to-day digital experiences while still pushing the brand’s sales message. “We thought about what’s shareable, unexpected and attention grabbing,” Larratt-Smith said. “It’s the kind of content we engage with on the internet” and “the epitome of a tone-setter for everything to come in these communities.” CREDITS: Microsoft: Global Marketing Manager: Devin Moore MarCom Manager: Abhi Shah Sr. Global Consumer Marketing Manager: Josh Munsee Product Marketing Manager: Lee Williams Associate Product Marketing Manager: Alexandra Wilson Ayzenberg Group: VP, Strategy & Integration: Justin Hills Account Director: Caroline Collins Account Director: Geordie Larratt-Smith Director, Operations: Cory Teale Producer: Fiko Metjahic Associate Director of Creative Strategy: Erik Schmitt Designer: Michael Cortez Associate Art Director: Gary Seastrom Copywriter: Jasen Wong Creative Director: Fern Espinoza Associate Director of Strategy: Jude Ambrosio Strategist: Alina Kontarev Motion Graphics Designer: Vu Nyguen Coordinator: Caitlin Miller

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This Wonderfully Bonkers Xbox Game Pass Ad Is Memetastic

Tone hits audience target squarely in the middle

T.L. Stanley

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T.L. Stanley