You don’t often see humour used in advertising for games. And the humour in Finnish gaming giant Supercell’s global campaign, #Boomiversary, for game, Boom Beach, is wonderfully left-of-centre. Its story is told by evil scientist Dr T, Dr. T head of the Blackguard’s Artifact Weaponisation Project Waste, who revels in ten years of player failures and reveals his newest mega crab plan.
The idea comes from creative agency, Waste Creative, and its in-house production studio, This Thing of Ours. The campaign celebrates and recharges Boom Beach on its 10th anniversary, for existing and lapsed fans. Supercell is dedicating the ten-year anniversary campaign to its fans, celebrating Generation Boom, (a nod to the fact that players call themselves boomers).
The 60-second animated hero film is a miniature diorama, with a Boom Beach scene brought to life on a one-metre cake. To create the cake that features in the film, Waste teamed up with Emma Jayne Cake Design, who turned the in-game scene into an edible reality, using gelatine for the sea, sugar for the sand and a mixture of chocolate and fondant to form the landscape, including palm trees, shrubs and rocky textures. The cake’s characters and buildings were first designed in 3D, then 3D printed and carefully painted by hand. The cake creation was placed on a four-metre beach set, with sand-like textures carved out of polystyrene and coated in real sand. The sky was created by lighting a wall with a gradient, while the sea was made using back-lit perspex, with cling film to add texture.
To shoot the film Waste collaborated with Clapham Road Studios, using a motion control rig with a variety of lenses to capture every angle.
The push is running across social channels YouTube, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Lasse Seppänen, game resourcing lead, Supercell, stated, “Reaching the ten-year mark is an incredible achievement, and it’s all thanks to our passionate and dedicated community of Boom Beach players. To honor their unwavering support, we’re thrilled to launch our latest campaign, which celebrates players and invites them to share their commander stories, cherish the past and anticipate the future.”
Alex Robinson, director, Waste Creative, added, “At Waste, one of our favourite things to do is to create things authentically and in-camera. This was the perfect opportunity to do just that, and it presented us with a plethora of exciting challenges and hurdles. Working alongside so many talented artists and witnessing everything come together on the day of the shoot was truly awesome.”
Louie Wood, midweight creative, Waste Creative, concluded, “For ten years, players have tried and failed to depose Dr. T from the Boom Beach archipelago. We at Waste felt there was only one way the charismatic villain would celebrate such a delicious victory. An enormous cake topped with an epic diorama showcasing his continued strategic superiority.”
Credits:
Creative Agency: Waste Creative
Alex Robinson – Director
James Trimming – Executive Producer
Sam Whiffing – Associate Creative Director
Jake Varney – Producer
Sean Kirby – Production Assistant
Norik Imami – 3D Previsualisation
Dolph Souza – Model Maker
Gareth Matthews – Graphic Design
Ryan Walker – Motion Graphics
Hannah Eates – Senior Strategist
Hal Pryce – Junior Strategist
Louie Wood – Midweight Creative
Stephanie Marsh – Junior Creative
Evelyn Ivey – Account Director
Lily De Meester – Senior Account Manager
Studio: Clapham Road Studios
Matthew Day – Director of Photography
Yossel Simpson-Little & Sarah Crombie – Art Direction
Max Halstead – MoCo Rig Operator
Aldo Camilleri – Gaffer
Tim O’Connell – Spark
Daisy Garside – Studio Manager
Dragos Teglas – Editor
Alexandru Chitoroaga – Colourist
Pixstone – VFX
Soundtrack Creation – Sound Design
Skip Robins – Dr. T Voiceover
Emma Jayne Cake Design
Emma Jayne Morris – Baker Marcus Hessenberg Photography
Marcus Hessenberg – BTS Videographer
