ZOMBIE CHRISTMAS: THE REAL-WORLD TRAILER
| Title | ZOMBIE CHRISTMAS: THE REAL-WORLD TRAILER |
| Brand | MICROSOFT |
| Product/Service | XBOX / DEAD RISING 4 |
| Category |
C03. Exhibitions / Installations |
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Entrant
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McCANN LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
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Idea Creation
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McCANN LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
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Media Placement
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CARAT London, UNITED KINGDOM
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PR
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EDELMAN London, UNITED KINGDOM
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Production
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CRAFT WORLDWIDE London, UNITED KINGDOM
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Production 2
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MOMENTUM WORLDWIDE London, UNITED KINGDOM
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Production 3
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HELIX 3D London, UNITED KINGDOM
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Production 4
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FLUX BROADCAST London, UNITED KINGDOM
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Credits
| Rob Doubal |
McCann London |
Chief Creative Officer |
| Laurence Thomson |
McCann London |
Chief Creative Officer |
| Sanjiv Mistry |
McCann London |
EMEA Creative Director |
| Jamie Mietz |
McCann London |
EMEA Creative Director |
| Jim Nilsson |
McCann London |
Copywriter |
| Jacob Björdal |
McCann London |
Art Director |
| Clare Mann |
McCann London |
Project Director |
| Paul Gillespie |
McCann London |
Senior Project Manager |
| Sergio Lopez |
Craft Worldwide, London |
Head of Integrated Production |
| Aaron Raybe |
Momentum Worldwide, London |
Senior Event Producer |
| Duncan Groves |
Craft Worldwide, London |
Senior Producer |
| Chris Cartwright |
Craft Worldwide, London |
Senior Producer |
| Ruth Oates |
Craft Worldwide, London |
Production Manager |
| Dan Howarth |
McCann London |
Head of Art |
| Sam White |
Craft Worldwide, London |
Video Director |
| Charlotte Walters |
McCann London |
Planner |
| Rob Smith |
McCann London |
Executive Vice President |
| Sailesh Jani |
McCann London |
Regional Business Director |
| Tom Oliver |
McCann London |
Account Director |
| Isobel Thomas |
McCann London |
Account Manager |
| Sophie Grierson |
McCann London |
Account Executive |
| Alice Parker |
McCann London |
Account Executive |
| Louise Ringrose |
McCann London |
Director of Communications |
| Paul Jenkinson |
Craft Worldwide, London |
Editor |
| Francis Harris |
Craft Worldwide, London |
Editor |
| Carl Warren |
McCann London |
Designer |
| Simon Thomas |
McCann London |
Designer |
| Dan Fields |
McCann London |
Designer |
| Michael Bow |
McCann London |
Designer |
The Campaign
Xbox didn’t make a conventional trailer. They created one that relied on consumer participation.
Xbox’s trailer was the first real-world trailer, an animated story made entirely out of actual Christmas lights installed in central London.
But it was switched off, and the on-button was given to the gaming world via livestreams.
Over half a million gamers interacted on Facebook Live, Twitch and Beam to lower a robotic zombie hand towards a big red button. When it was pressed, the Christmas light trailer dramatically switched on, revealing a new story about zombies, powerful weapons and the return of the franchise’s hero.
Thousands of gamers visited the trailer in person, walking through it to see the story unfold, while 360 mobile video allowed millions of other gamers to virtually walk through it too.
Campaign Success
The real-world trailer consisted of a series of animated Christmas light panels suspended, over the course of 11 days, above a busy shopping plaza in central London.
At first, all the lights were off.
But a celebrity wasn’t asked to switch them on, as is the norm in the UK. Instead, that honour was given to the gaming world.
The on-switch was a robotic zombie hand hovering above a big red button, shown to gamers via livestreams on Facebook Live, Twitch and Beam. Over 500000 gamers engaged with it, lowering the hand and switching on the trailer, revealing a new story about zombies, powerful weapons and the return of the franchise’s hero.
TimeOut London listed it as a festive destination, and thousands visited in person. Yet the whole world could walk through this neighbourhood’s unusual Christmas lights thanks to VR and mobile 360 degree video.
Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results
1900% above average Facebook response rate.
Over 500000 gamers responded to the call-to-action, working together to switch on the trailer.
Over 4 million walked through it. (target: 1 million)
Game sales exceeded target by 34%.
Over 18000 social comments.
Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service
To get a million gamers to watch their game trailer during a busy Christmas, when TV was cluttered and other trailers were coming out, Xbox built their trailer out of Christmas lights, and gave gamers a reason to participate: the trailer would be off until gamers worked together to switch it on, revealing the story of the new game to the whole world.
Consumer participation was at the very heart of this idea. Celebrities didn’t switch on these Christmas lights, and neither did Xbox. The gamers did.
Faced with a tough target of a million views, Xbox’s approach was to not make a conventional game trailer, which would have been lost in the clutter of formulaic game trailers, particularly around Christmas.
Instead, Xbox’s strategy was to play off gamers’ love of interaction by actively involving the gaming community in the trailer, giving them an irresistible reason to engage – you launch the trailer, not us.