Page 49 - AdNews May-June 2020

UNILEVER & XBOX
Creative Agency: Emotive
TM: Well produced with sweet performances, but everything else feels dated. If it’s for teenage boys, why is it referencing Scott Pilgrim and Street Fighter 2?
It seems like a missed opportunity to produce an expensive piece of traditional content when most 15-year-olds are telling stories,
for free, on TikTok daily.
MB: This is a very clever partnership strategy unifying two great brands to reach their audience. I must say, when they actually went head-to-head and fought, I was hoping for a slightly more gruesome end to
MICROSOFT
the jealous jock. I can only imagine Unilever saying, “Can we keep this G-rated, people,” even though Xbox has fighting combat games such as the likes of Mortal Kombat. Apart from that, it was really good and most entertaining. I give it four out of five stars.
ES: OK, so this is pure brand narrative awesomeness with the production values of a feature film. Combining the two unrelated brands was done brilliantly. Critique: the ending let me down a bit. Where was the girl’s final sass line?
Creative Agency: M:United/McCann New York
TM: This video is wonderful, but the product is doing all the heavy lifting here (Xbox deserves credit for being so forward-thinking for this console generation). And the final line lets
it down. When this is all over, let’s agree to drop the wordplay wank
and focus on connecting with our audiences like humans.
MB: Everyone wants to feel included and to be inclusive.
This Xbox Adaptive Controller allows kids with disabilities to be normal, in an exceptional way. While it doesn’t give them an advantage in the gaming world,
it simply allows them to play and be just like any other kid. Right on, Microsoft, you may not have got Windows 7 right, but you nailed this Adaptive Controller and the ad that brought it to life in an authentic, charming way.
ES: I’m just going to wipe my eyes a bit here. Here’s to authenticity! The dad in the ad says it all: “He’s not different when he plays.” Critique: should there have been a program for financial assistance off the back of this?
www.adnews.com.au | May-June 2020 49