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Together with agency Uncommon Creative Studio, Supercell launched a new spot to promote its action mobile game Squad Busters, enlisting the help of renowned celebrities to dress as some of its franchises' most popular characters.
"To mark this launch, our team wanted to create a show-stopping moment, so it felt fitting to have Hollywood icons face off against social media stars in a fun way, showing that life is more fun when you’re with a squad," Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen said.
The five-minute ad titled "Life's more fun when you SQUAD UP!" features Chris Hemsworth as the Barbarian King, Ken Jeong as Chicken, Christina Ricci as Witch, Will Arnett as Greg, and Auli’i Cravalho as Shelly.
It begins with Jeong waking up "Some Guy" from his sleep, only to be surprised by the five standing by the foot of his bed to make his life "more fun."
They then join the man as he goes about his day, interjecting his job interview, surrounding him as he empties his bowels, and jamming to Nickelback's "How You Remind Me" as they get stuck in traffic.
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Eventually, they bump into a squad dressed up as their characters, and engage in full-fledged combat with their counterparts — this time, played by online personalities: Dolph Lundgren as the Barbarian King, Bella Poarch as the Witch, Gabriela Moura as Shelly, Thoren Bradley as Greg, and ZHC as Chicken.
Here, Seth Phillips also known as "Dude With Sign," makes a cameo, holding up a poster that says "I'm here to appeal to a younger audience."
Later in the night, Some Guy sits on his bed as he plays Squad Busters while the five watch him enjoy the game. "Same time tomorrow?" he asks the squad.
However, their time with the gamer has come to an end, wishing him a good night as he gets occupied with the mobile multiplayer.
Following Through Its Milestones
The mobile game development company's comedic film builds on the fast-growing success of Squad Busters, which broke records for achieving 40 million pre-registrations.
In line with this, Paananen emphasized the game teams' dedication to creating massively high-quality games:
"We haven’t launched a new game for over five years. That’s why this moment, the launch of Squad Busters, feels so special! I want to thank the Squad team for their amazing work, which has led to the release of a new, incredibly fun game for our players worldwide."
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Supercell kicked off the arrival of Squad Busters with a Global Launch Event held at its Helsinki office on May 28.
The event was filled with minigames, photobooths, live demos, and exciting talks from its creators shared with the community.
Supercell Drops Squad Busters Blooper Reel
Following its viral star-studded spot and game launch on May 29, Supercell released outtakes of its filming last June, filled with hilarious scenes that didn't make the cut.
The Blooper Reel shows scenes from the previous spot featuring Hemsworth, Ken Jeong, Ricci, Arnett, and Cravalho.
The bloopers include additional sequences where "Some Guy" is watched by the crew as he does his deed in the toilet and woken up by Hemsworth as he pokes his sword at him in his bedroom.
Other scenes include an epic face-off with another squad of influencers and internet personalities, Some Guy's job interview, and an awkward elevator ride with everyone in their costumes.
Of course, a blooper reel wouldn't be one without the infectious laughs.
Squad Busters Revenue Rebounds After Struggles
Supercell hoped Squad Busters could break records and live up to its previous titular games, such as Clash of Clans, Clash Royale, and Brawl Stars.
These mobile games have generated over $1 billion in lifetime revenue.
However, reviews were less than stellar, with many calling it the weakest link in Supercell's game roster. This is evidenced by an over 50% drop in revenue drop just a month into the launch.
The game's revenue had been on a downward trend, hitting a low of $160,000 on August 7.
Revenue picked up after August 14, when Supercell launched a significant update, introducing new monetization options, a fresh season of content, and the removal of certain pay-to-win elements.
According to estimates from Appmagic, daily revenue for Squad Busters surged past the $400,000 mark for the first time since July 20.
Following the update, Squad Busters not only rebounded but also achieved weekend revenue peaks, with midweek earnings stabilizing at around $250,000.
These changes suggest that the update has revitalized player engagement and spending, although the game's overall daily active user (DAU) count continues to decline.
Starting at over 6 million DAU, Squad Busters is now only at about 500,000 DAU.
Squad Busters needs to ramp up its updates to improve the game and implement a more user-centric rewards system that gamers will love if it hopes to continue the momentum and ultimately increase its DAU and revenue.
Editing by Katherine 'Makkie' Maclang
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