James Robinson

We wanted more people to do more amazing things with the Xbox Kinect. So we created an online community where innovators could show off their Kinect based Tech. Then we made this film to invite them to participate. The TED conference named this one of their “ADS WORTH SPREADING” in 2012. Best. Award. Ever. 

To create this mobile-initiated content campaign, we hacked Pandora’s platform. For four days, fans who gave chosen artists a "thumbs-up"got a totally live, totally interactive one-on-one livestream concert served directly to their mobile devices. 

Audi was sick of being the favorite car of architects, authors and people who like wearing black turtleneck sweaters. Their first SuperBowl spot and the campaign that followed gave them a new, more aggressive identity by hauling off and smacking the  old, boring luxury car category right in the chops. 

Pandora's first campaign ever showcased what the music streaming service does best: create those moments where music and life intersect to create something perfect. Sometimes those moments end in romance. Sometimes they end with spaghetti stains on the carpet. Sometimes both. 

Giovanni Rana is the Willy Wonka of filled pasta. But that was the problem. His story is so wonderfully improbable that it feels like an agency made it up. So instead of using advertising to bring him to America, we used advertising to bring America to him. Throughout 2017 we threw 5, 100-person dinners cooked by the man himself. Just enter the contest and Giovanni will fly you to Verona Italy, put you up in a hotel, take you to his house and cook you the meal of your life. Then we watched social media and PR go bananas. Seriously. It's still going on. Go enter at DineWithRana.com. It's amazing. 

The first work out of the newly formed Martin NYC had to be something special. Milk, food conveyors, gingers in tight pants and an actor willing to sever his man bun on camera ensured that it was. 

Shadow Of War is the game that never forgets. Every good deed earns you loyalty, every betrayal begets an implacable enemy. So we created an integrated campaign that does the same. Watch our epic film, make your fateful choice, and live with the consequences as one of 3 loyal allies or 3 vengeful foes follows you in banners, pre-roll, and social media. You might even get some free pizza rolls out of the deal. Choose wisely. And for the mass audience? Violent orc comedy. Enjoy!

An oldie but a goodie. Remember how DVRs were supposed to be commercial killers? We used them to create killer commercials. Wordplay!

By introducing a new hero, Halo 5 added something new to the franchise's history: Ambiguity. Our campaign added even more. We launched with an interactive video accusing  game's legendary hero of being a traitor - and implied that we were going to kill him off. Then we ran two identical, yet completely opposite commercials in the same program. And we launched them alongside a 12-part "Serial" style podcast along with a hashtag that encouraged fans to become conspiracy nuts. Then we watched it become the most successful Halo campaign ever.

This branded long-form content campaign was created for Xbox Live and Machinima.com. It featured more stabbings than are usually seen in modern advertising. Children, members of the clergy and those with weak hearts are strongly advised to watch the SFW case study at the bottom of the page.

Gruesome. Shocking. And honored by the White House as “the most effective anti-drug campaign in US History.” Oh, and directed by some guy called Aronofsky.

Optimum was the Tristate's cute, friendly local cable company. Our job was to make them a national player. That meant a new tone, new branding, and a whole new naming system for a whole new suite of products. That, and some serious time in the edit suite. 

B-to-B advertising usually plays it safe. Usually. 

Wouldn't it be wonderful if all the world's conflicts could be solved with a dance-off? We’re looking at you Syria. 

Even the most analog executions in this fully integrated campaign were designed to be as interactive and entertaining as possible to help the frustrated American driver survive their day-to-day commutes. But just to be safe, we had digital stuff too. 

Nescafe Mexico wanted to stand for more than just waking up in the morning. This spot encouraged the country to remember what is really important in life. 

Barclays is a bank that loves to defy conventions. Like the convention that financial clients don't do interesting work. 

A fully-integrated campaign that brought Nestea into the digital age. Fully-playable live-action video games, interactive print, even a 1-800 number all “created” by one crazy self-appointed spokes-millenial. 

This award-winning campaign for some evil little pieces of candy is the first work I ever produced. No bells and whistles. Just some good old gummi-animal cruelty. 

We created this interactive print campaign to put the viewer in the mindset of the characters in OZ - HBO's brutal prison drama. They had no good options, so it was only fair that our audience didn't either. 

twofifteenmccann was the Xbox agency. My challenge was to make them more than that. That involved a complete overhaul of the agency identity, credentials, website, and a totally new philosophy based on the power of storytelling and the works of Nobel Prize winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman (ask a planner, they’ll know). It was an overhaul that resulted in winning pitches for HULU, PANDORA, WORKDAY, PREZI and ANNIE'S HOMEGROWN, a diversified client roster, and a balance sheet that went from slightly red to comfortably black.