Microsoft: 50th Anniversary
Change needs makers
In 2025, Microsoft turned 50. They approached us to develop a campaign that marked the occasion, by looking back at the past five decades of technology and empowering the next generation of innovators to take part.
Unlike traditional anniversary campaigns, Microsoft’s celebration is not about the technology itself. Instead, it’s about the people behind it: this campaign weaves together nostalgia with future-facing optimism to honor the dreamers and builders who made 50 years of innovation possible.
For people-powered progress
As a company whose mission is rooted in empowerment, Microsoft needed a campaign strategy that put people squarely at the centre of the story. The concept ‘Change needs makers’ celebrates not only five decades of human achievement, but also acts as a rallying cry for the next generation of innovators to build what’s next. The strategy comes to life through stories of pioneering products, historic breakthroughs, and human ingenuity.
Worlds that weave past with present
The bold, dynamic identity brings the spirit of changemaking to life in a way that weaves together the journey and the future. Artefacts—both past and present—form the foundation of the campaign’s visual system. From Windows and Xbox to Clippy and Copilot, these vivid 3D shapes come together to create imaginative, immersive worlds.
The hero artifact is the campaign’s 50 logo, which nods to the original Windows logo—widely recognised as Microsoft’s first truly mainstream brand. A set of six heritage-inspired backgrounds bring dimension and optimism to the worlds, with headlines leveraging Segoe Sans Display to create a sense of clarity. Art direction embraces real Microsoft employees and customers to celebrate stories of innovation and achievement that span the decades.
Bringing it to life
From a Microsoft.com takeover and placements across products including Teams and Edge, to a Times Square activation and an official 50th event live-streamed on April 4, this celebration stretched far and wide. But across physical and digital, the message remained the same: ‘Change needs makers’ is Microsoft’s call to does and dreamers, now and next. Balancing nostalgia and inspiration, it reinforces Microsoft’s enduring legacy as a brand that’s committed to continuous innovation and human achievement.
Thank you
A special shout out to Sven, Sunita, Aleksey, Kaity, Patrick, Pia, Jooyeon, Ju Hyun, Phyllis, and the rest of the Microsoft Brand Studio and Strategy teams.
