Microsoft and McCann used generative AI to transform holiday memories and traditions into works of art.
Transmedia artist Ellie Pritts set up shop with her laptop on a street corner in NYC. Curious passersby sat down and shared their recollections of the festive season. Origami, the Feast of the Seven Fishes, dumplings and a grandmother's coat were among the topics that emerged.
Pritts engaged Microsoft tech to create images based on the participants' tales.
"The inspiration came from the 1998 Brazilian film Central Station' depicting the true story of a retired school teacher who wrote letters for illiterate individuals," say Lucas Casão and Guilherme Rácz, SVPs at McCann. "The image of her in the streets, skillfully crafting people's stories into letters, seemed truly honest and powerful. That kept us thinking about how nice it would be if we could use AI to turn different holiday stories into masterpieces."
In addition to the long-form ad, seven individual stories were packaged as 30-second spots. Andree Ljutica directed. Consumers can learn how the memories were brought to life and visit Bing to create their own stories.
"This campaign is centered on rekindling connections with people, memories, and the things we cherish most about the holiday season," says McCann EVP, executive global CD Cristina Reina. "We chose AI to amplify those feelings and evoke a sense of wonder. To show how incredible a modern tool like AI could make those past memories and connections feel new."
CREDITS
Microsoft
Kathleen Hall | Corporate VP of Brand
Sven Seger | General Manager, Global Creative
Carol Phillips | General Manager, Global Advertising
Sunita Richardson | Senior Director, Brand Strategy + Ops, Chief of Staff
Aleksey Fedorov | Director, Global Brand Marketing
Kaity Butcher | Brand Manager, Microsoft Brand Studio
Pia Rodriguez | Global Brand Strategist
Stephanie Quartararo | Managing Advisor, Content Creation
McCann
Creative
Sean Bryan | CCO & ECD Global Brands, North America
Shayne Millington | CCO & ECD Global Brands, NY
Cristina Reina | EVP, Executive Global Creative Director
Pete Johnson | EVP, Executive Global Creative Director
Lucas Casão | SVP, Group Creative Director
Guilherme Rácz | SVP, Group Creative Director
Camilla Ciappina | Associate Creative Director
Daniel Trimarchi | Associate Creative Director
Matthew van Leeuwen | EVP, Head of Design
Mook Phoungbut | Design Director
Business Leadership
John Dunleavy | President, McCann Worldgroup
Socrates Papazoglou | SVP, Executive Account Director
Hugh Simpson | VP, Account Director
Marguerite Daly | Account Director
Courtney Marin | Account Director
Project Management
Anne Denny | VP, Project Management Director
Strategy
Emily Portnoy | Chief Strategy Officer
Sam Chotiner | EVP, Executive Strategy Director
Danielle Noto | SVP, Group Strategy Director
Kyla Jackson | Strategist
Production
Aaron Kovan | Chief Production Officer
Stacy Flaum | SVP, Executive Producer
Debbie Myllek | Talent Payment Manager
David Halberstadt | Integrated Production Business Manager
Jamie Jou | Director of Music Licensing
APR
Stephanie Quartararo | Managing Advisor, Content Creation
Tommy Murov | Post/VFX Advisor
Craft Worldwide
Andree Ljutica | Director
Adam Hirsch | SVP, Head of Content, North America
Zoe Greene | Executive Producer
Kim Anderson | Line Producer
Malik Dupree | Photographer
Marta Gromysz | Business Director
Lisa Kawamoto | Client Partner Americas Language Services
Ajit Jha | Project Director, Translation
No6
Corina Dennison | Executive Producer
Laura Molinaro | Head of Production
James Duffy | Editor
Nick Schneider | Editor
Revolve Audio
Paul Weiss | Mix Engineer
Gilda McCrann | Studio Director
Music:
JSM
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