A dog experiences Minecraft, Teams calls, Halo and more in Microsoft's holiday ad

Campaign from McCann New York also includes a special canine Minecraft world

Published On
Dec 03, 2020

Editor's Pick

Microsoft's holiday ad this year sees its protagonist experience a range of its offerings, from the Teams platform to Minecraft, Microsoft Flight Simulator and XBox games. However, the twist is, he isn't human, but a dog. 

The spot, from McCann New York, first sees the canine hero trying to connect with the humans in his life, but they're all busy with their devices during lockdown, either gaming or on work video calls. What's more, he's pining for his buddy next door, from whom he's presumably being forced to social distance (animals can get COVID too, you know.)

The dog then falls asleep and in his dreams, he's flying through the skies on the simulator, being part of a doggie world in Minecraft, infiltrating Halo and having a very barky Teams meeting. The ad, directed by Biscuit's Noam Murro, ends with the message "Find your joy."

As part of the campaign, Microsoft actually built the doggie world in Minecraft. The team at Blockworks has released "Dogtopia" as a free download available from Minecraft Marketplace and for Java. In it, you can run through a colorful bone-shaped forest where bacon grows on trees, ride in doggie hot air balloons, pee on a fire hydrant fountain and visit a canine Mount Rushmore.

Microsoft aims for the spot to remind people that there are still many ways we can be together this holiday. "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,” commented Kathleen Hall, VP of brand, advertising and research. 

Credits

Date
Dec 03, 2020
Client :
Microsoft
Agency :
McCann-New York
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
Senior Advertising Manager :
Dawn Novak
Senior Advertising Manager :
Hannah Westing
Social Media Manager :
Danielle Radcliffe
Head of Microsoft Flight Simulator :
Jorg Neumann
Co-Chief Creative Officer :
Sean Bryan
Co-Chief Creative Officer :
Tom Murphy
EVP Global Executive Creative Director :
EVP Global Executive Creative Director :
Piper Hickman
Creative Director :
Ferdinand Daniele
Creative Director :
Stephanie Cajucom
Art Director :
Gabie Fleischer
Copywriter :
Jessica New
Designer :
Gonzalo Hergueta
Designer :
Gonzalo Hergueta
Designer :
Yung Lee
Junior Designer :
Malik Dupree
Director of Creative Technology :
David Cliff
Creative Technologist :
Hiya Vazirani
Creative Technologist :
Alicia Foor
Managing Director :
Kevin Nelson
EVP Global Chief Communications Officer :
Jeremy Miller
EVP Global Business Lead :
Scot Beck
SVP Group Account Director :
Socrates Papazoglou
Account Supervisor :
Patricia Burelli
Senior Account Executive :
Divya Joseph
Project Manager :
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
Digital Producer :
Sean Flanigan
SVP Executive Music Producer :
Eric Johnson
Music Producer :
Dan Gross
Business Manager :
Jamie Jou
EVP Global Director of Strategy & Research :
Ash Farr
Strategy Director :
Jordan Berger
EVP Talent Partnerships :
Danielle Korn
Business Manager :
David Halberstadt
VP Director Talent Payment :
Terry Marcello
Talent Payment Manager :
Rosemary Smith
Production :
Biscuit Filmworks
Director :
Noam Murro
Partner / Managing Director :
Shawn Lacy
Executive Producer :
Andrew Travelstead
Head of Production :
Rachel Glaub
Head of Production :
Sean Moody
Producer :
Emily Skinner
Production Supervisor :
Jennifer Berry
Production :
MPC
Executive Producer :
Matthew Loranger
Producer :
Elias Bermudez Jr
Producer :
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
Production :
RPS
Editor :
Damion Clayton
Assistant Editor :
Michael Shugarman
Managing Director :
Eve Kornblum
Producer :
Jenny Greenfield
Photographer :
Giant Artists
Photographer :
David Black
Production :
Craft NY
Senior Print Producer :
Michelle Massaro
Retoucher :
Lorrena Lapouge
Retoucher :
Andrew Bacha
Production :
Sonic Union
Sound Designer/Mix Engineer :
Michael Marinelli
Head of Production :
Pat Sullivan
CCO/CEO/Co-Composer :
Joel Simon
VP/Executive Producer :
Jeff Fiorello
Co-Composer :
Jonathan Russell
Producer :
Norm Felker
Producer :
Andrew Manning
Producer :
Sharon Cha
Minecraft Dogtopia :
Blockworks
Founder and Managing Director :
James Delaney

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