14 DAY TRIAL // Just like all the other tech giants out there, Microsoft had its own share of SuperBowl commercials this year, trying to put not only its products, but also efforts to innovate in the spotlight and let everyone know that it’s working to change the world.
This year, Microsoft’s main SuperBowl commercial focused on Steve Gleason, former NFL player who has been diagnosed with ALS.
Steve is using a Surface Pro tablet connected to eye tracking technology to interact with those around him, with Microsoft claiming that his is the perfect example on how it can change people’s lives.
“This year we decided to tell the story of how peoples’ lives are changed through our technology with a Super Bowl ad,” Mark Penn, executive vice president, Advertising and Strategy, explained.
“This one-minute ad celebrates what technology can do, and is narrated by Steve Gleason, former NFL player and post-Katrina hero of the New Orleans Saints, now living with ALS. Steve narrates the spot in the same way he communicates daily -- using his Surface Pro to speak, via eye tracking technology.”
In addition, Microsoft has also aired some other commercials that highlight the features of its key products, including Skype and Kinect, both of which can be used for a wide array of purposes across the world.
Redmond guarantees that all those who appear in the ads are real people describing how its products changed their lives.
“Other stories featured in the spot include: how doctors use Kinect technology in the operating room, how Skype brings children around the world together to learn, how physically challenged people can continue to pursue their passions in life with the help of technology, and the particularly moving story of a mother gaining the ability to hear for the first time,” the company noted.
“These are real people telling their own stories in their own words and we hope you feel as inspired by them as we do.”
