Nowadays, big brands rarely hire top-tier directors to make great and memorable advertisements. Luckily, there are exceptions. Microsoft just dropped a new Xbox ad called Wake Up, and it’s not your typical gaming promo. Directed by none other than David Fincher (Fight Club, The Social Network) and Romain Chassaing, the video tells a weirdly dark but kinda funny story about a rat named Horatio who rediscovers his humanity through video games.

The ad shows Horatio stuck in a soul-crushing daily loop — packed trains, boring office life, and sad desk lunches. Everyone in this world is a rat, except for a few mysterious human gamers lurking in the background. But at the end of the day, Horatio kicks back with his Xbox on a Samsung OLED TV, joins his friends online, and dives into a game. That moment hits hard — it literally transforms him back into a human.

The whole vibe of the ad is about escaping the grind and finding something real in digital worlds. Microsoft’s message? Take a break, plug in, and feel alive again — with Xbox.

Main image: youtube.com

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