Will 2011 be remembered as the “Year of the Great Video Game Spot?” When it debuted last month, it really didn’t look like Deutsch LA’s “Michael” ad for PlayStation 3 would have any challengers for the most memorable spot of the year. That is, of course, until XBOX and agency twofifteenmccann released the above jaw-dropping commercial, “The Kinect Effect.”

As the VO says, XBOX thought turning voice and movement into “magic” via Kinect technology “would be fun. And it was.” Hey, if you’ve ever had the opportunity to play one of XBOX’s sports titles for Kinect, there’s little argument you can make against this statement. But, then we see the same technology used for spiking a virtual volleyball in your opponents’ face used for education, surgery, and disposing of hazardous waste. Add to that a great orchestral cover of the Pixies’ “Where is My Mind?” (probably best known to many as the song that plays during the end of Fight Club), and at the end of the spots’ 77-second run time, all a viewer can muster in response is an awestruck is, to quote lauded thespian Joey Lawrence, “Whoa.”

XBOX portrays Kinect as an idea that can affect a target demo who isn’t clamoring for the next Halo installment. It’s quite a bold statement, and one that we don’t see competitors Sony and Nintendo making with their own gaming platforms. Calling it “visionary” is an understatement, as in “The Kinect Effect,” we see video games change the world. Credits after the jump.

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