Our Super Bowl Story - Using technology to change lives and empower people

In yesterday’s Super Bowl (annual championship game of the National Football League, the highest level of professional American football in the United States) we decided to tell the story of how peoples’ lives can be changed through our technology. This one-minute ad celebrates what technology can do, and is narrated by Steve Gleason, former NFL player and post hurricane Katrina hero of the New Orleans Saints, now living with the disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Steve narrates the spot in the same way he communicates daily -- using his Surface Pro to speak, via eye tracking technology.

Other stories featured in the spot include: how doctors use Kinect technology in the operating room, how Skype brings children around the world together to learn, how physically challenged people can continue to pursue their passions in life with the help of technology, and the particularly moving story of a mother gaining the ability to hear for the first time.

The ad is the product of many teams across Microsoft collaborating and is a celebration of the great work and innovation done by our amazing engineering teams and the difference our work ultimately makes in peoples’ lives. The ad and the details of these real-life stories are told in their own words here. We hope you enjoy the ad and will share with your co-workers, family and friends.  – Jon C. Arnold