Actor Jimmy O. Yang’s Xbox Plushie Comes to Life to Tap Into ‘Nowstalgia' with 215 McCann

Entering an established core community like Xbox can feel daunting, so to welcome new players to the Xbox Series S this holiday season, Xbox created a campaign all about the nostalgic memories Gen Z will create playing their favourite games on the console…before they’ve actually made them. They call it 'Nowstalgia'.

To give us all 'Nowstalgia', Xbox created a series of ads that treat playing your favourite games on the Xbox Series S in the style of the classic toy ads from Gen Z’s childhood. To launch the campaign, Xbox created a custom Xbox Series S in the style of a classic talking Plushie toy to star in its own commercial. Of course, every talking Plushie needs a human best friend. And the Game With Me Series S found one in actor and comedian Jimmy O. Yang. In the film, Jimmy finds an unlikely friend in the talking plushie version of the Xbox Series S who comes to life on his couch with a very specific purpose.

Xbox also created a limited run of physical Game with Me Series S Plushies that will be sent out to a variety of gaming and pop culture influencers. Each Plushie comes in a collectable graphic box just like a real talking toy. When squeezed, each Plushie will come to life on its influencer’s channel by delivering a personalized message crafted for its chosen influencer.

In addition to the Game With Me hero film, Xbox is bringing the 'Nowstalgic' feelings of playing Fall Guys and Overwatch 2 to fans in a series of short social videos, reminiscent of the toy commercials players saw in their youth. Each spot showcases the experience of playing games such as Fall Guys and Overwatch 2 on the Xbox Series S, built especially to give Gen Z the nostalgic feeling they love for a console that they haven’t even bought yet.

Xbox also partnered with social action figure photographer @PlasticAction, aka Jax Navarro, to create custom 'Nowstalgia' hero stills for Falls Guys, Rocket League, Forza Horizon 5, Overwatch 2, and Minecraft. Each still brings the fun of the IP to life through crafted miniature sets, toy props, and cinematic photography. These stills will be featured on Jax’s own channels as well as Xbox’s owned and operated channels and across an OOH buy in Los Angeles.

The campaign, created with agency 215 McCann and directed by Ryan Staake, launched on November 29 and will run through the holiday season with digital, social, and out of home components.