Microsoft Shines a Light on Disability with For the Win Super Bowl Commercial

Hello World,

I was extremely disappointed with the final result of the Super Bowl game this past Sunday. As you probably have already figured out I was rooting for the Los Angeles Rams, who came up short this year. The game was so boring that one of the commentators actually called it the Snooze Bowl. On the other hand, the commercials did not disappoint. Microsoft’s ad titled: “For the Win” I believe really pulled at America’s heartstrings this year.

The Campaign

The “For the Win” campaign began during the holiday season and was extended to Super Bowl Sunday. The tech giant’s ad focused on gamers. Specifically, its efforts to help children with disabilities game. While also helping them bond over a shared experience of gaming thanks to the Xbox Adaptive Controller. In the 60-second spot above, physically challenged gamers to speak candidly about how the Microsoft adaptive controller helped them overcome their physical limitation and allowed them to just focus on gaming. This group of young gamers was led by Owen, a charismatic youngster who made sure to note that he was 9-½ years old not nine.

This spot ran during the fourth quarter’s first commercial break of Sunday’s Snooze Bowl. The spot’s execution demonstrated Microsoft’s intent was to illustrate that a product and a human truth deliver on its mission of empowering every person and organization on the planet to achieve more. If Microsoft’s mission is truly to empower people to achieve more, then, I think we can safely say they’ve accomplished their goal.

I noted earlier that this commercial was extended from their holiday campaign commercial titled “Reindeer Games.” See the commercial below.

The Predecessor

This spot, released last November focused more intently on the charismatic character Owen, who has a congenital condition called Escobar Syndrome. This disability forced him to seek out an adaptive Xbox controller. The controller helps Owen enjoy video gaming just like any other kid his age. Both commercials ran with the tagline, “When everybody plays, we all win.”

The Super Bowl commercial, like its predecessor, came from m:united//McCann, the IPG division. Check out how cool the actual controller looks below.