Microsoft is one of the most innovative companies in the world. But people considered it a “productivity-enabler” above all. Few knew Microsoft’s mission: to empower everyone to achieve more. We needed to make the brand matter to consumers, beyond Microsoft Office. Searching unveiled an unlikely product: the XBOX Adaptive Controller, which helps those with limited mobility play video games. It perfectly demonstrated Microsoft’s mission and innovation spirit. But there were hurdles: 1. No intended marketing support. 2. Coming to market during the holidays, when marketing is dedicated to sales drivers like Surface. 3. Uncertain effects would halo to master brand.

Instead of making disabled gamers our audience, we flipped the script and made them the center of our campaign. By using the real voices and experiences of gamers with disabilities, we brought a human face to Microsoft’s innovation. This showed: when everyone can play, we all win. A quiet launch solely to the disabled gaming community would not do the product justice, nor elevate the conversation around inclusion to a broader audience. So, we went the opposite way: the biggest sporting event of the year—the Super Bowl. Its focus around physical ability and emphasis on one winner provided the perfect juxtaposition and context to shift the cultural conversation around inclusivity, and to demonstrate the larger brand mission of Microsoft.

Through our research, we found that for gamers with disabilities, gaming is so much more than a game. It was one of the only times people with disabilities feel treated as an equal to those without, since their opponents didn’t see their disability on-screen.

This is what made the controller truly innovative: not its tech and specs, but how it leveled the playing field. These human stories showed how gaming gives disabled and abled-bodied gamers opportunities to engage with people who were different from themselves, helping them see the world differently.

Our strategy: put a human face to the adaptive controller to show why leveling the playing field mattered to everyone.

Instead of making disabled gamers our audience, we flipped the script and made them the center of our campaign. We brought a human face to Microsoft’s innovation—no specs or product porn. This showed: when everyone can play, we all win.

We found real gamers with limited mobility and brought their stories through an :60 ad on the biggest stage: the Superbowl. Its focus around physical ability provided the perfect juxtaposition to shift the cultural conversation around inclusivity and demonstrate the larger brand mission of Microsoft.