From themed setups to in-game character creation, the gaming community is no stranger to personalization and making something truly theirs. The Xbox Design Lab (XDL) was created with this in mind, equipping our fans with a tool to create bespoke controllers for them, by them.
Throughout the current generation of Xbox accessories, translucent controllers have been one of the most requested and anticipated additions to the lineup. So how are we going to launch the six new translucent ‘Cipher’ colors alongside ‘Chroma’, two new rainbow chromatic button options?
First, we'll create an introduction to these new product features that focuses on why these translucent colors were (and still are) so beloved in the first place. Then, we'll hand the controls over to our audience by inviting them to create their own controllers on XDL.
The six new translucent colors of the Cipher series innately call back to the Y2K ‘Clear Craze’ tech trend—think back to the Apple iMac G3, translucent green Halo Special Edition Xbox, Japan Exclusive Clear Skeleton Black Xbox, and so much more. We saw this as an opportunity to harness nostalgia as a unique way to channel positive emotions and connections to cherished past memories, while also inviting players to wield the future with Xbox's top-of-the-line Elite 2 Controller.
We began by creating a short-form animated video that opened with a Y2K flashback. As if stepping out of a time machine, the viewer is greeted by a scene reminiscent of an early 2000s bedroom, complete with a newly released original Xbox gaming console (along with some other fun Xbox Easter eggs) illuminated by the glow of a CRT television. We then took the viewer on a journey into the TV, channel-surfing through fuzzy screens before witnessing the new XDL Cipher controllers and Chroma accessories take center stage as a retro ad. In unison, the translucent clear, pink, purple, red, teal, and green controllers spin and dance across the screen while the video treatment slowly shifts to a more modern, brighter world. As the music ramps up, we’re introduced to the full Cipher series in high definition with a call to visit XDL to create your own custom controller.
If the short-form video wasn’t enough to get viewers to try out their own favorite color combinations, we also complemented this launch with additional static visuals featuring the full lineup of Cipher colors and Chroma accessories with the same CRT television screen treatment.
This nostalgic campaign hit the hearts of many and ended up being a huge success. Our audience loved the trip back to the “good old days” when it was “simpler times”. The campaign successfully drove awareness for the new XDL offerings, garnering 6M views, 129K engagements, 7K clicks, and 1.4K shares on average.
