For the most part, it’s been a pretty shitty year. We’re separated from family and friends. Money is tight. Or in many cases nonexistent. And now we have the pressure of holiday shopping. Where is our holiday spirit? In the flusher. Microsoft, along with AOR McCann New York, acknowledges that reality but, at the same time, offer some hope and positivity through the many ways Microsoft can help you stay connected and have some fun.
And it all happens via man’s best friend.
The Christmas ad, ‘Find Your Joy (A Dog’s Dream)‘, tells the story of Rufus, a dog who can’t physically be with his best bud, but through his dreams can experience the joy of togetherness and friendship. Together, they go on an epic adventure into the worlds of Minecraft, Halo, Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Flight Simulator, just like Rufus’ humans.
This campaign follows Microsoft’s ‘Holiday Magic: Lucy and the Reindeer’ spot of last year where Lucy, through the ‘magic’ of Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Translator, allowed Lucy to get some inside scoop from the Reindeer.
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Kathleen Hall, CVP, brand, advertising and research, Microsoft, said: “This year more the ever, we felt that it was important to give people a little lift, to remind them that while we are facing a lot of challenges, there are many ways we can connect, be productive and enjoy the time we have at home.”
The spot is full of Microsoft products such as Teams, Halo, Xbox, Minecraft and Microsoft Flight Simulator. Consumers are able to experience elements of the spot themselves.
Rufus’ doggy dream will be available to download and explore in Minecraft. The team at Blockworks have released Dogtopia as a free download available from Minecraft Marketplace and for Java.
Run through a colourful bone-shaped forest, where bacon grows on trees and there are never any fleas. This world will be complete with doggie hot air balloons, a mountaintop dog mansion, a fire hydrant fountain, a doggie Mount Rushmore and more.
Microsoft will also be making custom teams backgrounds available, and in mid-December Flight Simulator will be decorating 12 cities around the globe with holiday lights and magic, a holiday scavenger hunt for every Flight Simulator pilot to enjoy.
Also, closer to Christmas, we’ll be making the planes our dogs flew in our ad available for Flight Simulator players to fly themselves.
CREDITS:
CLIENT: Microsoft
- CHIEF BRAND OFFICER: Kathleen Hall
- SR. DIRECTOR, GLOBAL ADVERTISING: Carol Hutchinson
- DIRECTOR, GLOBAL ADVERTISING: Stacey Terrien
- DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL ADVERTISING, SOCIAL AND MEDIA PARTNERSHIPS: Jenny Leahy
- SENIOR ADVERTISING MANAGER: Ron Schott, Hannah Westing and Dawn Novak
- SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER: Danielle Radcliffe
- HEAD OF MICROSOFT FLIGHT SIMULATOR: Jorg Neumann
AGENCY: McCann New York
- CO-CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICERS: Sean Bryan and Tom Murphy
- EVP, GLOBAL EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTORS: Shayne Millington and Piper Hickman
- CREATIVE DIRECTORS: Ferdinand Daniele and Stephanie Cajucom
- ART DIRECTOR: Gabie Fleischer
- COPYWRITER: Jessica New
- DESIGNERS: Gonzalo Hergueta and Yung Lee
- JUNIOR DESIGNER: Malik Dupree
- DIRECTOR OF CREATIVE TECHNOLOGY: David Cliff
- CREATIVE TECHNOLOGIST: Hiya Vazirani and Alicia Foor
BUSINESS LEADERSHIP
- MANAGING DIRECTOR, MCCANN NY: Kevin Nelson
- EVP, GLOBAL CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER, MCCANN WORLDGROUP: Jeremy Miller
- EVP, GLOBAL BUSINESS LEAD: Scot Beck
- SVP GROUP ACCOUNT DIRECTOR: Socrates Papazoglou
- ACCOUNT SUPERVISOR: Patricia Burelli
- SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE: Divya Joseph
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
- PROJECT MANAGER: Monica Daniels
PRODUCTION
- CHIEF PRODUCTION OFFICER: Nathy Aviram
- VP, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Mel Senecal
- PRODUCER: Morgan Edstrom
- SENIOR ART PRODUCER: Kelly Ramsey
- ART PRODUCER: Caroline Sollman
- DIGITAL PRODUCER: Charlotte Popper and Sean Flanigan
- SVP, EXECUTIVE MUSIC PRODUCER: Eric Johnson (aka DJ Bunny)
- MUSIC PRODUCER: Dan Gross
- BUSINESS MANAGER, MUSIC: Jamie Jou
STRATEGY
- EVP, GLOBAL DIRECTOR OF STRATEGY & RESEARCH: Ash Farr
- STRATEGY DIRECTOR: Jordan Berger
BUSINESS AFFAIRS
- EVP, TALENT PARTNERSHIPS: Danielle Korn
- BUSINESS MANAGER: David Halberstadt
- VP DIRECTOR TALENT PAYMENT: Terry Marcello
- TALENT PAYMENT MANAGER: Rosemary Smith
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Biscuit Filmworks
- DIRECTOR: Noam Murro
- PARTNER / MANAGING DIRECTOR: Shawn Lacy
- EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Andrew Travelstead
- HEAD OF PRODUCTION: Rachel Glaub and Sean Moody
- PRODUCER: Emily Skinner
- PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR: Jennifer Berry
POST PRODUCTION: MPC
- EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Matthew Loranger
- PRODUCERS: Elias Bermudez Jr and Stefani Na
- SHOOT SUPERVISOR: Daniel Seddon
- 2D LEAD: Rob Walker
- CG SUPERVISOR: Tim Kafka
- COLORIST: Vincent Taylor
- COLOR PRODUCER: Kay Carpenter
- COLOR ASSISTANT: Tyler Robinson
EDIT: Damion Clayton
- ASSISTANT EDITOR: Michael Shugarman
- MANAGING DIRECTOR: Eve Kornblum
- PRODUCER: Jenny Greenfield
PHOTOGRAPHER: Giant Artists
PHOTOGRAPHER: David Black
CRAFT NEW YORK
- SENIOR PRINT PRODUCER: Michelle Massaro
- RETOUCHERS: Lorrena Lapouge and Andrew Bacha
SOUND COMPANY: Sonic Union
- SOUND DESIGNER/MIX ENGINEER: Michael Marinelli
- HEAD OF PRODUCTION: Pat Sullivan
MUSIC: JSM
- CCO/CEO/CO-COMPOSER: Joel Simon
- VP/EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Jeff Fiorello
- CO-COMPOSER: Jonathan Russell
- PRODUCER: Norm Felker, Andrew Manning and Sharon Cha
BLOCKWORKS (MINECRAFT DOGTOPIA)
FOUNDER AND MANAGING DIRECTOR: James Delaney
SOURCE: McCann, New York
