Grandma Ursula from Merge Mansion is raking up a mystery with the Oscar-winning Kathy Bates portraying her in the debut brand films from the puzzle game. The hit mobile puzzle game that has people buzzing about the characters behind the screen launched globally earlier this year and has close to 20 million downloads.
The very first live-action Merge Mansion brand campaign crafts a playful and suspicious tone as Grandma Ursula is determined to make her granddaughter Maddie’s search for answers as complicated and difficult as possible. Unique to the mobile game space, this brand is using an A-list celeb and prime broadcast and digital media to capture audiences and elevate to the likes of an entertainment franchise.
In this film Grandma Ursula isn’t where she appears to be, with the help of a decoy.
Jim Jenkins of O Positive directed the campaign for Wieden+Kennedy Portland.
Bates said, “Ursula and I fit like a pair of beloved old garden gloves! What a crazy grandma. I loved scurrying around the grand old house. So much fun working with the brilliant Jim Jenkins and Grace Rex who played my granddaughter—a very talented young actress.”
CreditsClient Metacore Games Oy/Merge Mansion Agency Wieden+Kennedy Portland Matt Sorrell, Jason Kreher, Katie Willis, Ryan Snyder, creative directors; Liam McKay, art director; will Curtis, Farha Chowdhury, copywriters; Orlee Tatarka, head of production; Ricara Stokes, executive producer; Nani Weinberg, film producer; Devin Brown, interactive producer; Mike Weihs, design director; Luke Wilhelmi, Hui Chen Ou Yang, Taylor Geick, designers; Scott Meisse, design producer; Indiana Matine, strategic planning. Production O Positive Jim Jenkins, director; Marc Grill, exec producer; Ralph Laucella, head of production; Sameet Patadia, production supervisor. Editorial Mackcut Gavin Cutler, editor; Brendan Hogan, assistant editor. Online Finish/VFX Yours Truly, KEVIN Tim Davies, executive creative director; Sue Troyan, sr. exec producer/partner; Andrew Cowderoy, VFX producer. Color Company 3 Dave Hussey, colorist; Mario Castro, sr. producer. Music New Math Music Jared Hunter, Kala Sherman, Dave Wittman, Ray Loewy, composers. Sound Design/Mix Field Day Noah Woodburn, sound designer, mixer; Leslie Carthy, exec producer. Graphics Yours Truly, KEVIN
Top Spot of the Week: Samsung, BBH Singapore, Director Rhys Thomas Get Fit For A Surf Holiday
Samsung’s new global campaign from BBH Singapore, featuring Samsung Health and Galaxy AI, tells the story of a young professional couple who compete to get fit for a surf holiday.
Titled “A Samsung Health Story: Racing to Fiji,” this film taps into Gen Z’s wellness dilemma and the fact that they can often find health information overwhelming; in particular, BBH Singapore took inspiration from young people who reference their “quarter life crisis” on social media. This film tells the story of Stacey and Steve who decide to go surfing in Fiji, something they did five years ago but haven’t done since they started their jobs. However, there’s one problem: they need to get fitter first.
Featuring a range of Galaxy products powered by Galaxy AI, they rebuild their fitness to prepare for the trip, competing playfully to spur each other on. We see them comparing their Energy Scores (a new feature on the Samsung Health app), recording their runs and swims on their Samsung Galaxy Watches, trying and failing to get fit at work and on their commutes and striving to improve in the run up to the trip. When they get there, however, there’s a fun twist, and the film ends on a cliffhanger.
The ad is expected to be the first in a series, which will develop the characters and their “world” in future episodes. This longform (two-and-a-half-minute) version of the spot delves deeper into the storytelling, in a fresh approach for Samsung’s product campaigns, while the shorter edits focus on driving exposure to specific features.
BBH Singapore also leaned into the entertainment aspect of the spot; it was directed by comedic specialist Rhys Thomas at Stink Films, who has a major TV background. Best known for his work on Saturday Night... Read More