Major Trend: Celebrity Effect in Creatives

🎥 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬. Major UA trend that shines👇

💥 Arnold Schwarzenegger in Mobile Strike
His involvement wasn’t just about lending his face—it tied directly into the game’s theme of power and strategy. These were the times when Arnold was everywhere. You opened your fridge, BAM! Arnold. Toilet? Arnold. TV? Arnold. Good old MZ days…

🎰 Jennifer Lopez in Coin Master
Coin Master (MoonActive Ltd) brought J.Lo on board, and her star power and the game’s mechanics created a campaign that resonated with a diverse audience. She also shared a few of these ads on her social media, getting 5+ million views. You have probably seen a Kardashian playing Coin Master. Those ads started rolling back in 2019. It was June 2020 when they introduced new celebrities into the mix. It was J.Lo that accelerated the number of downloads and revenue growth.

🔍 Pedro Pascal
When Merge Mansion (Metacore) revealed Pedro as their spokesperson, their narrative-driven approach was taken to the next level. But only a narrative-driven approach; the revenue didn’t follow the “next level,” unfortunately. People expected a Netflix TV show but received a series of ads instead. Rumour has it this wasn’t really the top creative in the UA mix and was used for PR & hiring purposes instead—very expensive hiring.

🕹️ Celebrity Squad
Supercell’s Squad Busters showcased a creative twist on the celebrity trend. Instead of a Hollywood face, they made players feel part of a squad filled with relatable “heroes”. Also rumored to be the second biggest flop in the UA creative history, right after Pedro. I’m not sure about that. I really like the ad, but I would wait a bit longer to add it to the UA mix

🎲 Friends in Monopoly Go!
Scopely launched its first global campaign, “Friendship Pays,” just a few days ago with Chris Pratt, Jason Momoa, and Keke, with Will Ferrell voicing Mr. Monopoly himself. This comes after Monopoly Go’s revenue fell to a 15-month low. Great timing to salvage the revenue drop. Remember the J.Lo example? Up and to the right! Also, this game has been profitable every day, every week, and every month since the global launch. I am pretty sure this is money well spent!

Initially, I wanted to talk only about five examples, but I started digging deeper and found Simon Cowell in Royal Match (Dream Games) or Sarah Jessica Parker playing SGH (Playtika), so I had to include also my favorite David Beckham. or Anthony Starr, who was the most recent Celebrity UA creative—leaving some of his fans very surprised.

Celebrities are redefining how we market games or, to be more precise, how we look at the ROAS of these videos. I also see a pattern here: games with high LTV can afford to spend millions for celebrities. Others, not really. No shit, Sherlock.