Microsoft is turning people’s vacation memories into art using artificial intelligence

By Tim Nodd
Creative editor for the advertising age

Generative AI has been a big topic in creative circles all year. Now, Microsoft is highlighting this in its Christmas commercial, in which artist Ellie Britts uses the AI ​​tools in Microsoft Designer’s Image Creator to create artworks from people’s Christmas memories.

The ad below shows Brits setting up a laptop on the streets of New York and inviting people to sit down and tell him their vacation memories. Britts then turns them into prompts in Microsoft Designer, refining them until the program creates a “masterpiece” based on each person’s memories.

The film features seven people in total, each celebrating a different holiday. The piece ends with Brits displaying his creations to universally enthusiastic reviews.

The campaign delves into each of the film’s themes in a series of 30-second ads. Consumers can visit microsoft.com/holidays for more information and visit bing.com/create to create their own images. The campaign is running on Microsoft-owned digital and social channels.

Christina Rinna, executive global creative director at McCann New York, told Ad Age that Brits and the creative team kept pushing the boundaries of the compositions and artistic styles of each piece “until we ended up with something that we thought was specific enough to ‘capture your vacation memories, but at the same time Create a sense of joy and wonder.

He added: “It was difficult to choose one for each story. It’s almost instant. It is progress. When you write a letter, you keep revising, exploring, and pushing until you capture a feeling of magic and joy. Infinite combinations of historical peculiarities, styles and artistic movements unleash a multitude of wonderful works of art.

“This year we want to celebrate the unique holiday traditions that people experience around the world,” added Kathleen Hall, Chief Brand Officer at Microsoft. “With the magic of AI and Microsoft Designer, anyone can become an artist, bring their memories to life and create beautiful masterpieces to share.”