How do you make an ad purposeful without making it “worthy”? Uncommon Creative Studio in Stockholm has cracked this ongoing conundrum by teaming Oscar-nominated William H. Macy with a playful troupe of cute skeletons, and then layering on an NHS professional who is sorting out the serious end: organ donations.
The ad is for Supercell’s Clash Royale, which has more than 60 million monthly players. The Halloween twist on its Skeleton Army mobile game is cleverly designed to recruit younger people onto the NHS organ donors register by “joining the Skeleton Army reserves”. It concludes with the NHS call to action: “Yes, I will donate.”
Gabriel Eccher, marketing lead for Clash Royale, said: “I never thought I’d get to make a campaign for Clash Royale with William H. Macy. It’s not just an exciting moment for the game — it’s a campaign that can help save lives. People need organs; skeletons don’t.”
Björn Ståhl, CCO at Uncommon, said: “We’ve had an incredible journey with Clash Royale. There’s a major shortage of donors aged 18–35. By combining an in-game update with a real-world cause, this feels like our most meaningful campaign yet.”
The fact that Uncommon’s Stockholm agency has produced a UK-focused campaign featuring a famous American actor indicates that there’s a genuine international feel at the Havas-owned micro-network, which still only has three offices (London and New York are the other two). The results is a refreshing take on the “purpose” agenda.
MAA creative scale: 8
