Network of the Year: McCann Worldgroup

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Billboard

Entrant: McCann London, London
Xbox / Tomb Raider - "Survival Billboard"

Corporate Name of Client: Microsoft

Xbox EMEA Head of Advertising: Michael Flatt

Media Companies: EMT/Dentsu Aegis, London

PR / Marketing Company: Edelman, London

Agency Senior Account Executive: Sailesh Jani

Agency Account Executive: Charlotte Walters

Agency Account Director: AJ Coyne

Agency Account Manager: Charlotte Habin

Agency Planner: Thomas Keane

Agency: McCann London, London

Chief Creative Officers: Rob Doubal/Laurence Thomson

Creative Directors: Sanjiv Mistry/Jamie Mietz

Copywriters: Jim Nilsson/Sanjiv Mistry/Anja McGuiness

Art Directors: Jacob Björdal/Jamie Mietz

Head of Art: Michael Thomason

Head of Production: Sergio Lopez

Executive Agency Producer: Tom McLoughlin

Agency Producers: Clare Mann/Lois Newcombe/Chris Cartwright

Integrated Creative Director: Chad Warner

Design Studio: Ellis Faint/Liam White/Muhammad Qasim

Graphic Designers: Colin Lee/Danny Elliot

Production Companies: Momentum Worldwide, London/Hothouse, London/Attention Seekers, London

Digital Production Company: MRM, London

Editing Facility: CRAFT Worldwide

Editors: Andy Tusabe/Paul Jenkinson

Sound Engineer: Tim Sutton/Chris Gilbert

Description of the Project:
Challenge: Big games, like big movies, launch with billboards. Yet most are just glanced at. How could Xbox get gamers to engage with the launch of the gritty new Tomb Raider? Solution: Turn an advertising channel into an entertainment channel. Survival Billboard was a billboard on which eight gamers stood in a test of Lara Croft-like grit and inner strength, to win a trip inspired by the game. They faced blizzards, downpours, wind and heat – all controlled by the public via a live stream. Viewers gave up sleep to watch the billboard, supporting and speculating about the people on it. In one day, the oldest advertising medium was reinvented as a gripping reality show. Results: 8 minutes average dwell time (compared to 8 seconds for a regular billboard) £3.8 million in earned media 11000 viewers for 22 hours straight 3.5 million views and 32000 comments in 22 hours