Instead of celebrating Clash of Clans’ 10th anniversary, Supercell celebrated a fake 40th anniversary, set in an alternate universe where Clash had existed since 1982.
To do it, Wieden+Kennedy created an entirely made up 20-minute documentary. It covered 40 years of history, and was shot on five different era-specific cameras. The team created commercials for fake products, fake interviews for fake morning shows, and even scenes from a fake movie.
At the heart of it were three games that were made for real: an 80s arcade platformer, a 90s racer, and a 2000s-era RPG. Even though the games were playable, everything was a work of fiction.
Background
Released in 2012, Clash of Clans is one of the most popular mobile games in the world, with 300 million daily players and millions of subscribers to its YouTube channel. For our 10th Anniversary, we wanted this global community of fans to feel like the game they loved was as iconic a gaming franchise as Mario, Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, and the other video games that have shaped our culture and lives. Our goal was to create a campaign that went beyond celebrating 10 years, and instead re-engaged our fans in a way that reminded them how much they really love this game, and keep them invested for the future.
Strategy
Gamers hate traditional ads. But they crave content from Clash of Clans. Over the years, Clash of Clans has made animated shorts that give the characters in the game personality. For our 10th Anniversary, we wanted to go farther than ever before by creating something gamers crave but had never had for Clash—lore. We wanted to create an entire history of the game for our fans. But mobile games don’t often get the same credit as big console or PC games. We knew our lore had to make Clash feel as big and culturally relevant as other beloved franchises like Mario, Donkey Kong, Zelda etc.
Idea
Instead of celebrating our 10th Anniversary, we celebrated a fake 40th Anniversary, pulling fans into an alternate universe where Clash had existed since 1982. But we didn’t want this to be a joke. We wanted our fans to truly feel that Clash was as important as those other iconic gaming franchises that had shaped their lives. That’s why every choice we made creatively was meant to add to the authenticity of our made-up story, so even our most diehard fans would wonder if there really had been 3 decades worth of Clash games they had never heard of. On the Internet, this questioning of history is called “The Mandela Effect,” where a mass of people collectively hallucinates an alternative history.
Execution
It all started with an entirely made-up 20-minute documentary. To make it as authentic as possible, we shot on 5 different era-specific cameras. We created commercials for fake products, fake interviews for fake morning shows, and even scenes from a fake movie. At the heart of it were 3 era-specific games—which we actually made for real. An 80s arcade platformer. A 90s racer. And a 2000s open-world RPG.
Awards
– Entertainment Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions 2023
– Entertainment For Gaming Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions 2023
Credits
Brand: Supercell – Clash of Clans. Advertising Agency: Wieden+Kennedy Portland. Production Company: Spark & Riot. Countries: Finland, United States. Music: BUTTER Music and Sound. Additional Company: B2Y, Sofia. Supercell – Clash of Clans Brand Marketing: Sean Cornejo. Marketing Art Director: Eric Reimer. Marketing Coordinator: Rachael Slocum. Brand Creative Lead: Michael Gurman. Wieden+Kennedy Executive Creative Director: John Petty. Executive Creative Director: Ana Balarin. Executive Creative Director: Hermeti Balarin. Managing Director: Jess Monsey. Creative Director: Lawrence Melilli. Creative Director: Darcie Burrell. Copywriter: Nick Stoner. Copywriter: Will Curtis. Art Director: Nick Howard. Art Director: Liam Mckay. Group Brand Director: Danny Sullivan. Brand Director: Kimmy Cunningham. Management Supervisor: Jane Han. Brand Manager: Spencer Crain. Brand Executive: Demetrius Wallace. Executive Producer: Ricara Stokes. Producer: Kacey Klonsky. Producer: Devin Brown. Producer: Arpi Agdere. Design Director: Mike Weihs. Design Producer: Victoria Tengblad-Kreft. Design Producer: Scott Meisse. Studio Designer: Dave Hagen. Studio Designer: Michael Auer. Studio Designer: Morgan Searcy. Studio Designer: Olivia Budiono. Studio Designer: Chris Streger. Studio Production Specialist: Matt Blum. Studio Production Specialist: Liliya Dru. Studio Production Specialist: Vicki Liu. Studio Production Specialist: Beth Schuenemann. Studio Production Specialist: Ken Berg. Studio Production Specialist: David Carney-Fenton. Copyediting: James Yu. Copyediting: Lisa Kadous. Copyediting: Erica Nikolaidis. Retoucher: Frazer Goodbody. Retoucher: Amy Ellars. Retoucher: Greg Radich. Motion Lead: Adam Sirkin. Motion Producer: Cameron Blake. Motion Designer: David Mellor. Motion Designer: Chris Huang. Motion Designer: Konstantin Eydelman. Strategist: Indiane Matine. Strategist: Olivia Campbell. Group Media Director: Stephanie Ehui. Associate Media Director: Mary Eliason. Associate Media Director: Jarod Diaz. Sr. Business Affairs Manager: Kevin Moyer. Business Affairs Manager: Chelsea Appleby. Business Affairs Manager: Kristian Evanculla. Associate Business Affairs Manager: Tristan Martin. Creative Operations Manager: Valentina Savarese. Creative Operations Manager: Jaymie Steck. Head of Communications: Danny Hernandez. Copywriter: Ryan Snyder. Art Director: Katie Willis. Spark & Riot Director: Nalle Sjöblad.
Game: Clash Dash
EP: Annick Mayer
ECD: Tim Kvasnosky
Sr Producer: Stone Irr
Associate Producer: Sonia Ohan
Composer: Nat Jenkins
Game: Cradle of Darkness
EP: Annick Mayer
ECD: Tim Kvasnosky
Sr Producer: Stone Irr
Associate Producer: Sonia Ohan
Composer: Josh Canevari
Game: Clash 8-Bit
EP: Annick Mayer
ECD: Tim Kvasnosky
Sr Producer: Stone Irr
Associate Producer: Sonia Ohan
Composer: Tim Kvasnosky
Cinematics
EP: Annick Mayer
ECD: Tim Kvasnosky
Sr Producer: Stone Irr
Associate Producer: Sonia Ohan
Composers: Max Schad and Josh Canevari
