Work / Xbox
Xbox The Everyday Tactician
A virtual champion runs a real football club. 1.5bn impressions and a Cannes Grand Prix.
With Xbox and McCann London, EXF.STUDIO wrote, produced and directed a three-part branded docu-series for TNT Sports and YouTube, following a Football Manager player handed control of a real club, Bromley FC. It became one of the most awarded ideas in the world in 2024.
- 1.5bn
- campaign impressions
- 190%
- more Football Manager players on Xbox
- 3
- episodes on TNT Sports + YouTube
- 132
- years before Bromley's first EFL promotion
The challenge
McCann's idea was to test virtual skill in the high-stakes world of pro football. The risk: it could feel like a gimmick. People had to choose to watch it, not feel sold to.
The idea
Treat the campaign like programming, not advertising. A documentary, told over three episodes, with real stakes, real players, real fans and no script for the outcome.
The result
1.5 billion campaign impressions, a 190% increase in Football Manager players on Xbox, the most played Football Manager ever and the best season in Bromley's 130-year history. Awards include the Cannes Lions Grand Prix and Titanium, and Ad Age Campaign of the Year.
What AI and tech brands can take from it
This is the AI marketing problem in miniature: software skill, proven in the real world, with real people's stakes on the line.
“Xbox's 'Everyday Tactician' is a masterclass in storytelling.”
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