The archive · Marketing & Growth · Marketing decision · 2020–2021
Xbox's Beyond Generations sends old consoles to lonely elders via printable ReBoxing kits
McCann London's Xbox initiative used documentary films plus downloadable ReBoxing kits to make a young gamer's old console a gift that reconnects generations.
Xbox (Microsoft)
What it had to solve
Loneliness among the elderly was rising — a million older people were going over a month without speaking to anyone — while lockdowns kept families apart. Xbox wanted to show that gaming could be the bridge that rebuilt those relationships rather than the screen that isolated people.
How it works
Loneliness among the elderly was on the rise, with a million older people going over a month without speaking to another person, and lockdowns had made the distance between generations harder to cross. Xbox's Beyond Generations: Gaming Against Loneliness set out to unite families using the relationship-building potential of games.
The platform launched in December 2020 with two documentary films following the real-life stories of families who had lost touch — grandfather Howard and grandson Dhillon, and Mary and Jason — as they tried to reconnect by playing together.
In February 2021 a ReBoxing programme gave the idea a physical form: young gamers could download and print ReBoxing Kits at home, use them to pack up an old console, and gift it to an elderly relative, with everything the new owner needed to start playing. The campaign reported 15,000 kit downloads, conversations running about 45 minutes longer on average, and no negative sentiment in social channels, and it went on to win a D&AD Wood Pencil and One Show recognition.
Why it lands
- The films made the need human before asking anything of the audience, so the ReBoxing ask landed as a continuation of real stories.
- A printable kit converted good intentions into a concrete, no-purchase task a young gamer could complete at home.
- Gifting an old console flipped the category's unboxing trend and the surplus hardware of young gamers into an act of care.
- Pairing older and younger players positioned Xbox as a relationship tool rather than a screen that separates generations.
What it did
The campaign reported 15,000 ReBoxing kits downloaded, conversations between the featured relatives averaging 45 minutes longer, and zero negative sentiment in social channels. It won a D&AD Wood Pencil and a One Show award, and the two families kept playing together after filming.
What you can take
Make the ask a physical ritual: a downloadable kit that turns an unused console into a gift converts sympathy into action and gives the campaign an object people keep talking about.
Since then
The families featured in Beyond Generations kept playing together after filming, which gave the documentaries a credible follow-up in coverage. The ReBoxing kits were downloaded 15,000 times, and the work collected a D&AD Wood Pencil plus One Show recognition before being cited in industry features on gaming and loneliness as an example of content that connects generations rather than isolating them.
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