The common schoolyard activity of jumping rope has been elevated to a new level in a television ad produced by Microsoft entitled “Jump Rope.” The sixty second spot walked away, or jumped away, rather, with top honors at the ADDY awards held in San Francisco. The ADDY is the advertising world,s version of the Oscar, awarded for excellence in the field of marketing.
The television ad won two prestigious awards; ADDY Best of Show National, and the ADDY Mosaic Award. There were over 58,000 entries in the competition with 1,857 of them qualifying for the national contest. The unusual ad by Microsoft features various individuals participating in the “double Dutch” form of jump rope and demonstrating jaw-dropping stunts. At the very end of the commercial, the simple words, “Jump In” appear, which then fades to the logo of the Xbox 360.
Leo Burnett, CEO of the 2006 ADDY awards and Mark Tutssel, Microsoft officer had the following to say about the ad “This extreme double Dutch jump rope jam metaphorically captures the excitement and social aspect of the new generation Xbox 360. It was shot completely in-camera in one take. This is a beautifully crafted piece of work, and the soundtrack is inspired."
These over-the-top words of adulation are a bit extreme by Burnett and Tutssel, but admittedly, the commercial is a lot of fun to watch. The ad can be viewed here.
Not to take anything away from the talented individuals in the commercial, but the GamerNode staff has been seen doing these types of stunts during our breaks in the employee lounge.
