XBOX SOCIAL

Everything we do, we do for fans. Ayzenberg is the Agency of Record for Xbox’s social channels and over the years they have built an engaging community of fans and an extensive portfolio that is truly “ownable” to the Xbox brand. This success is evident when we look at competitors trying to achieve what we do.

Our creative is heavily driven by human/gamer insights. Our language is finely crafted and tuned for our community—knowing when to “jump in” on trending conversations and how to create our own by relating to our fans. Our visuals have the luxury aesthetic, if not an immersive and in-game look and feel. We appreciate and love practical photography versus 3D product renders— While there are benefits of items looking sleek, more often than not, it looks too fake and lack the human touch we so treasure.

CYBERPUNK 2077

CD Projekt Red and Xbox came together to create one of the most coolest gaming hardware ever designed based on their new game, Cyberpunk 2077. Set in a future similar to the movie Blade Runner, the story follows a character named V and their part between disruptors and “peacemakers” with the help of an infamous rocker named, Johnny Silverhand.

The hardware designers at Xbox worked closely with CDPR to craft the console and controller that would be a physical embodiment of the game, and added many details and customizations that Xbox has never done before. So when it came to announcing these products on Xbox social, we wanted to make sure that we do our part in encapsulating the aesthetics of the game into our social assets.

I was handed to lead the announcement Instagram Stories for the console and controller, as well as the supporting piece for the controller Instagram post. After studying various trailers and demo videos CDPR had released, I pulled together a list of details I wanted to lift from the game and recreate, as well as a list of detail shots of the products I wanted to highlight to properly convey to fans all the awesome details both parties have put into. For the overall look and feel, there were few things that felt obligatory to me: the hacking/glitch visual effect and animations, duality of the game and the hardwares portrayed through light and shadows, the player’s on-screen design elements, soundtracks that mirror the mood of the game and cuts that makes your heart pump. I went through several rounds with our editor—I’d retouch and composite the products into environments and ship it off for him to set pacing. While he edited and added glitch effects and transitions, I created the various design elements and animated them for him to add to our video—it was a lot of back and forth and offering each other feedback and solutions. I think these might be the best collaborative work I’ve ever done in my career. Our Xbox clients and CDPR were absolutely thrilled with what we came up with and so were we.

ARCTIC CAMO

A special release with WalMart, the Arctic Camo Controller is probably the coolest camouflage controller Xbox has ever made. From the frosted semi-transparent plastic to the grip details on the trigger, we wanted to make sure the hardware was photographed in perfect lighting to properly capture every detail. My favorite part has got to be the shadows under ever opaque print of the camo—it really helped create depth and it lures your attention slowly into the mechanical pieces that peep through.

For the environment, I researched locations in Alaska and Iceland and have looked through hundreds of rock and glacier formations, mountains, and aurora borealis. After collecting bits and pieces of what I liked, I created a world that would reflect game environments and the controller itself.

PHANTOM MAGENTA

As the first new lease of controllers in the year 2020, I wanted to create something very special and unique to the brand. Any marketer would tell you, a great product will sell itself—but even when you have a great product, it can flop based on how you present it. So I wanted to do my best.

The Phantom Magenta is SO beautiful, perhaps too beautiful for a piece of gaming accessory. I began to picture it as some kind of alien creature from another planet—an organism we’ve discovered, an organism we barely understand. That story began to form in my mind and a set that could potentially do justice to properly showcase its beauty. As inspiration I looked at macro photography of various plants and micro-organisms, and within couple of days I put together a mood board for my clients. Few days after the package was sent, I received a personal email from my client with the biggest praise that I had yet received in my career. It wasn’t “this is great” or “that’s really cool” — this message was earnest and sincere, and it’s one that you hope to receive at least once in your career. I’ll keep the actual words to myself ;)

ELITE WIRELESS CONTROLLER SERIES 2

For the launch of the new Elite Wireless Controller Series 2, we created several launch and support creative for Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Because this controller is such a hallmark of Xbox’s innovation and technology, we’ve gone through several rounds of various photography and design until we finally met the premium quality it deserves.

XBOX X TACOBELL

Xbox and Taco Bell have once again joined to create a special giveaway of an awesome bundle which includes: a custom console, the new Elite Series 2 controller, and Game Pass Ultimate to lucky winners. Based on the box art, we took a series of photos of the bundle, console + controller to create awareness and amp up fans on our social channels.

GEARS 5

For the release of the 5th installment of the franchise, Gears of War partnered with Xbox, and other companies like Seagate and Razer, to create a suite of custom hardwares. We were given the assignment to create numerous supporting content for the launch that’s visually aligned with the overall theme of the game as well as the product design.

NIGHT OPS CAMO SPECIAL EDITION

For the teaser/launch/sustain creative of Night Ops controller, we wanted go big on how our community of avid gamers will relate this camouflage to the games or movies they like and can recall. We created a series of environments that has heart-pumping, action-driven, thrill-satisfying look and feel and placed the controller has the hero. We wanted our fans to visualize and tell a story of the scene in their head, and think of all the games they’d play with this new controller that will really set the vibe.

MISC

CREDITS

Agency: Ayzenberg