Football superstar Erling Haaland has become a video game character as part of a new partnership with Supercell’s mobile game Clash of Clans.
The partnership will see the Norwegian forward become the famous ‘Barbarian King’ character as part of an epic, football-themed seasonal game event. It’s the first time a character based on a real person has been added to the popular game, which has been downloaded over two billion times.
Fans will be able to play as Haaland in Clash of Clans and enjoy a host of football-themed features appearing in the game throughout the month, including special troop characters and medal events. As an additional fun challenge, fans will also have the chance to defeat Haaland’s in-game village.
Haaland is known around the world for his football skills – but he also knows a thing or two about video games.
Haaland is a long-time fan of Clash of Clans, building an impressive in-game village that he’s defended from rival clans. It’s his love of Clash of Clans that prompted him to partner with the game.
Agency DAVID New York is behind the campaign, which includes this epic movie-style trailer in which we see Haaland encounter characters from the game before being transported into the animated world of Clash of Clans. Axis Studios served as animation house, with Olly Reid directing the animation.
Andre Toledo, chief creative officer at DAVID New York, said, “A partnership between Erling Haaland and Clash of Clans? It doesn’t get more iconic than that! It was amazing to work alongside the incredible team at Supercell on how to make this collaboration even more iconic. We’re excited to share everything we’ve prepared, so stay tuned!”
Credits
Client Supercell, Clash of Clans Agency DAVID New York Pancho Cassis, global chief creative officer; Andre Toledo, chief creative officer; Linus Oura, Sebastien Rouviere, Pedro Sattin, creative directors; Guillherme Pinheiro, associate creative director; Paula Vampre, global strategy officer; James Mitchell, group strategy director; Brooklyn Carey, strategist; Brenda Morrison Fell, head of production; Natasha Louckevitch, executive producer; Sophie Freid, associate producer. Animation Axis Studios Nicole Duncan, Chris Wenting, exec producers; Olly Reid, director; Olga Kotas, Magdalena Grzesz, producers; Carys Evans, live-action producer; John Huikku, CG supervisor; Mateusz Mizak, art director; Ariadna Roa Salazar, production manager; Nico Almafitano, Marie Ravoavison, production coordinators; Paul Coulthard, storyboard; Misha Oplev, Garet Hector, color script artists; Yannick Kawan, environment concept; Charles Downman, FX concepts. Summer Kou, lead layout artist; Daphne Chabrier, Daniel Volosozhar, Jimmy Farrington, layout artists; Ekaterina Pushkarova, lead character artist; Carl Forsberg, Marceli Guziewicz, Carlo Kasongo, character artists; Eilidh Brown, blendshape artist; Jessica Cheung, lead environment artist; Alec Walker, Josef Bsharah, Daniel Mille, Kazuya Tachibana, Michael Hoft, environment artists; Alex Williams, props artist; Tiago Beijoco, lead rigging TD; Louise Masse, Ryan Federman, Fiona Lynch, Eilidh Brown, rigging TDs; Coline Della Siega, lead CFX artist; Andrew Cook, David Graham, Will Pryor, CFX artists; Jose Domato Pedreira, animation lead; Roy Margalit, Claudia Taylor-Smith, Quentin Retif, Amaury Bretnacher, Pamela Rivera Badillo, Andrea Delfino, Saumya Goyal, Michel De Silva, Perrine Phelizon, animators; Spike Meesters, lead FX artist; Arthur Muller, Gerard Garcia, Kristina Vajdova, Henri Morain, Erik Campeaux, Santiago Cabrera, Silvia Pascual, FX artists; Surendra Rajawat, DMP artist; Daniel McCance, lead lighting artist; Nick Knapp, Laura Gerlier, Patrick Topf, lighting & compositing artists; Cameron Mitchell, grading; Marjorie Dutriaux, lighting TD/Sweatbox-tech renders; Louise McGregor, head of editorial; Emma Nathan, editor; Lea Gudelj, Duncan Formosa, assistant editors; Parag Gupta, project TD; Chloe Campbell, Sandra Kimm, render support; Simon Carr, creative supervisor; Nicolas Drew, VFX exec producer; Jessica Phillips, VFX producer; Julian Martin-Samos, VFX supervisor; Jeremy Berruel, asset supervisor; James Sellers, matchmove supervisor; Simon-Pierre Puech, comp supervisor; Adam White, 3D generalist; Colette Nunes, head of editorial; Alexandre Pavot, pipeline supervisor; Andrew Clunes, render support manager. Music Butter Music and Sound Andrew Sherman, chief creative officer; Dan Zank, executive creative director; Renee Masse, exec producer; Coke Youngblood, composer/arranger; Warren Wolfe, producer; Anneliese Daley, music coordinator. Audio Post Mr. Bronx Geoff Strasser, sound design/mix; Dave Wolfe, audio post creative director; Maggie Norsworthy, producer. Production Company, Live Action–Manchester Tom Gent, exec producer; Emily Mules, producer; Lyndsey Shingler, Jamie Tarr, production managers; Bruce Gill, location manager; Terry McShane, 1st AD; Louise Meadows, makeup artist; Natalie Armin, stylist; Bohdan Pylypchuk, choreographer. Production Company, Live Action, Oslo, Social Tom Gent, exec producer; David Lieb, director; Jordi Estape, producer; Lyndsey Shingler, Jamie Tarr, production managers. Production Service Company Monky Productions Harvard Schei, line producer; Jack Maddison, DP.
Tonal, the strength training system combining revolutionary digital weight technology with personalized, AI-powered coaching, has introduced its new brand platform, “Power Progress,” and advertising campaign developed in partnership with Quality Experience (QX), the creative independent agency founded by Ari Weiss.
Directed by Aube Perrie of Pulse Films (UKMVA Director of the Year 2023 & 2024, UKMVA Best New Director 2021 and Webby’s Best Music Video 2022) with visual effects from The Mill NY, this brand film contrasts how the heavy chains of the past still shape how we work out today, with Tonal representing the future of fitness.
In addition to the brand film, the campaign includes cutdowns ranging from 90 seconds to 15 seconds, with even the shortest spot clearly connecting the old and the new. French director Perrie’s body of work includes music videos for Harry Styles, Megan Thee Stallion, and RM’s “LOST!”
“Sports marketing has had a long history of breakthrough advertising,” said QX creative chairman Weiss. “We wanted to launch with an idea as disruptive as the product itself. Not an easy bar to live up to. Like any great idea the insight is dead simple but the execution is unexpected and riveting. Great sports marketing doesn’t happen without great sports marketers and the team at Tonal shared our ambition to make the marketing as disruptive as the product.”
