Loneliness among the elderly is on the rise, with a million older people going over a month without speaking to anyone, according to Age UK. And during COVID-19, that sense of isolation has worsened. Yet the virtual worlds of gaming have become places where gamers can build and maintain real-world relationships. “Beyond Generations,” an initiative by Xbox and McCann London, is aimed at bridging that generational divide in families, by showing elderly people the relationship-building potential of today’s games, and by getting younger people to start gaming and connecting with the older people in their lives.
The “Beyond Generations” platform launches with two filmed experiments, airing on Xbox’s YouTube and Twitter channels, each following the story of a different real family. This particular film, “Mary & Jason,” tells the story of Jason and his great-aunt, who live far apart and have never really known each other. The filmed experiments document how going on virtual road trips together in Forza or sailing on virtual ships together in Sea of Thieves, things that are no longer possible for them to do in real life, become an ice-breaker for opening up to each other about their lives and forming a deeper relationship, something sorely missing from ordinary video calls.
Beyond the films, Xbox’s broader mission is to encourage families dealing with loneliness to begin connecting more through gaming.
Recognizing that most elderly people don’t have a console, while younger people often have an old console gathering dust, Xbox is introducing a “ReBoxing” initiative–a subversion of the category trend of unboxing videos. The ReBoxing initiative is a project to empower gamers, who might have recently upgraded to a new console, to gift their old console to an elderly person in their life–the first step in starting to connect with each other.
The ReBoxing Kit, downloadable (in the U.K. only) from the campaign website, includes simple tools that people can use if they wish to box up their old console and send it to an older family member. This includes gifting messaging cards, a “What’s in the Box” checklist, as well as simple product tags that will make it easy for older family members to understand what each item does and how they fit together, as soon as they open the box.
To help ignite this spark of connection within families, Xbox has partnered with multiple charities around the globe dedicated to supporting the needs of older people. In the UK, Xbox will support Age UK, and their work internationally through Age International.
“This initiative is close to our hearts because it shows the power gaming has to make a genuine difference in people’s lives. And the more people who take up the call and start ReBoxing their old consoles and giving them to their grandparents, the more those silos of loneliness start to break down. We’re honored to partner with Xbox to help nudge families a little bit closer together,” said Sanjiv Mistry, ECD at McCann London.
CreditsClient Xbox Agency McCann London Laurence Thomson, Rob Doubal, chief creative officers of McCann UK and co-presidents, McCann London; Jamie Mietz, Sanjiv Mistry, executive creative directors; James Crosby, William Cottam, sr. creatives; Lisa Carrana, head of design; David Coates, designer. Production Agency (Craft) Sergio Lopez, chief production officer; Sophie Chapman-Andrews, head of integrated production; Alec Christie, exec producer; Zara Balfour, sr. producer; Pedro Pinto, head of postproduction; Jamie Cooper, post producer; Sarah Hall, producer. Production Company Craft Chris Fowles, director; Zara Balfour, producer; Terrence Wilkins, DP; Chris Davey, composer; Alex Young, editor; Toby Burden, assistant producer; Ashley Joiner, assistant editor; Marti Guiver, Luke Makepeace, assistant camera; Mihai Meirosu, sound design & mix; Simon Hall, online editor; David Devine, COVID supervisor; Son of Alan, illustrator. Color Grade Framestore Stefan Perry, colorist.
Director Gia Coppola Teams With Mejuri For “A New York Minute”; 1st Episode Takes Us To The Grocery Store
Mejuri, known for turning fine jewelry into an everyday luxury, has partnered with director Gia Coppola (The Last Show Girl, Palo Alto) and The Directors Bureau in Los Angeles, for the first time reimagining the brand’s story as episodic content. In a series of microfilms, co-created by Coppola and premiering following New York Fashion Week, Mejuri eschewed a typical celebrity campaign and cast us as voyeurs to a group of aspiring young women--real people, not actors--at the crossroads of their adult lives against the backdrop of New York City.
Titled “A New York Minute,” the series features five real-life friends, who include one perfectly imperfect heroine named Emma. The women celebrate ordinary moments and interactions which reveal, sometimes retrospectively, the extraordinary within the mundane. Adjacent to the brand’s own community, the 30-something year old cast includes Laura Love (Emma), Rebecca Ressler, Natalie Vall-Freed and Rozzi Crane. Mejuri’s jewelry makes an appearance as the best supporting actor.
“When I met with Gia and The Directors Bureau team, there was instant creative and personal chemistry and a natural alignment on the desire to push and blur the lines between marketing, storytelling, and the construct of what a ‘campaign’ could be,” said Jacob Jordan, chief brand officer, Mejuri. “Gia was able to push that idea into something that truly feels new and artful, with a realism and relatability that almost feels jarring. Gia was such a perfect collaborator and partner, someone I had complete trust in to be a catalyst for Mejuri’s values of celebrating women as their truest selves. I can’t wait for us to continue to tell the next chapters of this story.”
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