Xbox’s global “Power Your Dreams” campaign marks the entry to the next generation of gaming with the all-new Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles. The Xbox Series X is the fastest, most powerful Xbox ever and sets a new bar for performance, speed and compatibility. The Xbox Series S brings next-generation gaming – faster load times, higher frame rates, and richer, more dynamic worlds – in the smallest Xbox ever. The global campaign kicks off with the brand’s newest spot, “Us Dreamers,” developed by 215 McCann.
“Us Dreamers” represents the journey of gamers everywhere, told through the experience of our hero Daniel Kaluuya when his gaming experiences come to life inside his own dream. Oscar-nominated actor Kaluuya is known for his roles in Get Out and Black Panther and will soon be seen in the highly anticipated film, “Judas and the Black Messiah.”
The spot begins with Kaluuya picking up his new Xbox Wireless Controller after returning home. He is greeted by online friends and is quickly transitioned into his gaming dream, and from live action to CG. Kaluuya travels through his dream, passing through spectacular and immersive visuals of dream-inspired worlds. 215 McCann and Xbox partnered with director Ian Pons Jewell of RESET and VFX studio MPC to bring these worlds to life.
“The featured track “No Ordinary” is a new song by Labrinth, a multiplatinum-selling singer, songwriter, Grammy nominated producer and Emmy award winning composer of one of 2019’s biggest shows, HBO’s Euphoria.
The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S hit shelves on November 10, 2020.
Credits
Client Microsoft/Xbox Agency 215 McCann Scott Duchon, chief creative officer; Nichole Geddes, creative director; Mat Bunnell, creative director/copywriter; Savannah Hicks, sr. art director; Mandi Holdorf, director of integrated production; Megan Swan, Nina Roussarie, sr. producers; Jessie Ybarra, associate producer; Brian Wakabayashi, head of strategy; Ryan Riley, strategy director; Christian Stewart, sr. strategist. Production RESET Ian Pons Jewell, director; Dave Morrison, managing director; Deannie O’Neil, exec producer. Editorial Whitehouse Post Tobias Suhm, editor; Joe Carugati, Nick O’Neill, assistant editors; Joanna Manning, exec producer; Jordan Stricklin, producer. VFX & Color MPC Elexis Stearn, exec producer; Nicole Saccardi, Warwick Hewett, Mireille Antoine, VFX producers; John Edson, Jamie Hughes, VFX coordinators; Neela Kumuda P, line producer; Sakshi Gaur, production coordinator; Ricky Gausis, colorist; Meghan Lang Bice, color exec producer; Sasha Pace, color producer; Sam Ziaie, Nate Seymour, color assists; Michael Gregory, Dan Seddon, creative directors; Toya Drechsler, David Filipe, VFX supervisors (2D); Zhenya Vladi, Corinne DeOrsay, Fabian Frank, VFX supervisors (3D); Raju Ganesh S, CG supeervisor; Rashabh Butani, 2D supervisor; David Hickey, Parker Sellers, Andrew Price, Samir Patel, Fabian Frank, Kristian Bonne, James Bown, Chris Welsby, Clementine Supiot, pre-vis; Silvia Bartoli, Marco Gifuni, Pascual Rubio Cervera, Michael Reed, Tom Hearne, Corinne DeOrsay, Jemmy Molero, Bibin Balan, S Shashi Kumar, Vivek Mayanglambam, Bibin Balan, Vinutha R, Selva Kumar K, assets; Navin Pinto, Gretchen Asmar, Maximilian Mallman, rigging; Fabian Frank, Giovanni Bianchet, Pascual Rubio Cervera, look development; Ivan Khomenko, Leandre Lagrange, Michelle Tolo, Mike Davis, Andrew Kim, Eric Fulghum, Farid Sandoval, Jake Lunt, Lino Khay, Leandre Lagrange, Farid Sandoval, concepts; David Bryan, Chris Welsby, Andrew Price, Samir Patel, Ty Coyle, Marco Capparelli, Clementine Supiot, Mack Knights, James Bown, Shiny Rajan, animation; Dan Bodenstein, Nate Skeen, Rob Richardson, Selcuk Ergen, Radu Ciubotariu, Arnau Gilabert, Umesh Namdev, Ashwath Thiraviam, Kartik Gupta, FX; Tim Kafka, Sherryn Pattarawuttiwong, Nate Skeen, Tom Hearne, Asher Stusek, Brendon Echsner, Zhenya Vladi, Pascual Rubio Cervera, Fabian Frank, Giovanni Bianchet, Chris Huland, Kiril Mirkov, Mattias Lullini, Stephane Ranaldi, William Laban, Aritra Sarkar, Raju Ganesh S, lighting; Navid Sanati, Toya Drechlser, Kyle Belko, Andy Roberts, David Ince, Hector Cabrera, Jason Heinze, Oliver Caiden, Sandra Ross, Sorie Conteh, David Piombino, Gustavo Bellon, David Filipe, Mithun Alex, Ed Taylor, Pavan Balagam, Yashvardhan Jain, Shaik Abdul Adul, Manideep Sanisetty, Yashvardhan Jain, Akula Srikanth, Abhilash A, compositing; Claus Hansen, Sean Anderson, Flame; Marco Genovesi, Megan Bailey, Ed Babb, Radhakrishnan R, Joyett Fernandes, Sachin sureshrao Dhapudkar, Bakiyaraj P, Shanmugavel V, DMP; Sreejimol C.P, Suresh P, Anurag Sing Kushwaha, Sreeji, prep. Music Walker Music Sara Matarazzo, Stephanie Pigott, exec producers; Danielle Soury, music supervisor; Chris Nungary, chief engineer. Track: “No Ordinary” from artist Labrinth, Courtesy of Columbia Records and Sony/ATV Music Publishing. Sound Design & Mix Lime Studios Rohan Young, sound designer, mixer; Jeremy Nicols, audio assistant; Susie Boyajan, exec producer.
The 2024 Christmas ad from John Lewis department stores has arrived. This year’s much anticipated TV commercial, continuing the Xmas tradition of John Lewis, is the two-minute “The Gifting Hour" created by Saatchi & Saatchi UK and directed by Francois Rousselet via production house Riff Raff.
In the ad, the heroine, Sally, has left it a little late to find the right gift for her sister this year and races into a John Lewis store at closing time. Falling through a rack of dresses, she enters a fantastical world. We first see her stumbling out of the wardrobe in the attic of her childhood home and from here we are taken on a whimsical journey through her memories as she searches for the ultimate present, against the clock.
Returning to the store and back to reality she has found the perfect gift, ready and wrapped. Sally then heads outside and has a special moment with her sister who will be the gift’s recipient. As they walk away we see her sister reflected in the John Lewis window as the child from her memories.
