Microsoft turns people’s holiday memories into AI works of art

Generative AI has been a big topic in creative circles all year long. Now, Microsoft is highlighting it in its holiday commercial, with artist Ellie Pritts using the AI tools in Image Creator by Microsoft Designer to create works of art from people’s holiday memories. The spot below features Pritts setting up a laptop on the streets of New York and inviting people to sit down and tell her their holiday memories. Pritts then turns these into prompts in Microsoft Designer, refining them until the software spits out a “masterpiece” based on each person’s recollections. The film features seven people in all, each celebrating a different holiday. The piece wraps with Pritts showing them her creations—to universally glowing reviews. The campaign goes deeper with each of the film’s subjects in a series of 30-second spots. Consumers can visit microsoft.com/holidays to learn more, and go to bing.com/create to make their own images. The campaign is running on Microsoft’s owned channels in digital and social. Cristina Reina, executive global creative director at McCann New York, told Ad Age that Pritts and the creative team kept pushing the boundaries of the compositions and art styles on each piece “until we ended up with something we thought was specific enough to capture their holiday memories but create a feeling of joy and wonder.” She added: “It was hard to pick one for each story. It’s almost instantaneous. And it’s a progression. When you type in one prompt, you keep revising, exploring and pushing until you capture the feeling of magic and joy. The endless combinations of specificity of a story and art styles and movements unleashes a plethora of wonderful pieces of art.” “This year, we want to celebrate the unique holiday traditions people experience around the world,” added Kathleen Hall, chief brand officer at Microsoft. “With the magic of AI and Microsoft Designer, anyone can be an artist and bring their memories to life, creating beautiful masterpieces to share.”

Microsoft turns people’s holiday memories into AI works of art

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