As Candy Crush Turns 10, Game Takes the Obsession of Its Players to a Global Stage

Candy Crush Saga is turning 10. Since 2012, the mobile game has racked up more than three billion downloads and millions of daily players, who swipe, match and destroy the neon-colored candies on their screens during stolen moments on commutes or in long lines. Today Candy Crush is one of the top grossing games in the world. King, its developer, enlisted ad agency David Madrid to celebrate the viral and pervasive nature of the Match-3 game on its 10th anniversary. The agency created a series of graphic ads, illustrating various everyday situations where the patterns seen in Candy Crush seem to appear. From gym lockers to rows of bowling balls, flower stands and an office spreadsheet—the candies might pop up everywhere once players get immersed in the game. Candy Crush patterns appear in everyday scenarios. The campaign will run in the U.S. and U.K. across print and outdoor, including a giant billboard in New York City’s Times Square. “We’re excited to kick off our Candy Crush Saga 10th anniversary celebrations with this campaign, bringing the essence of Candy Crush Saga into the real world in a fun and engaging way,” King CMO Fernanda Romano said in a statement. “We’ve chosen everyday places, where we encourage everyone to have a little fun with us as they head to work or wait in a queue somewhere.” Even rows of flowers can remind obsessive players of Candy Crush. Saulo Rocha, chief creative officer at David Madrid, added: “Anyone who’s played Candy Crush Saga knows that once you get going, the game seems to show up all over the place. And that got us thinking, what if we took this and made a whole campaign about it?” Are these work tasks or candies I must crush? Activision Blizzard, the publisher of gaming brands including Call of Duty and World of Warcraft, has owned Candy Crush maker King since 2016. Microsoft announced earlier this year that will acquire Activision for $68.7 billion. The deal is currently being scrutinized by the U.K. markets regulator. Fernando Machado, former global chief marketing officer of Burger King owner Restaurant Brands International, joined Activision as CMO last year. CREDITS: Agency: David Madrid Global CCO: Pancho CassisGlobal COO: Sylvia PanicoExecutive Creative Directors: Saulo Rocha, André ToledoAssociate Creative Director: Pedro Sattin Creatives: Francesc Enrich, Giulia Ferrarezi, Maud McCaffrey, Wil Carvalho Motion Designer: Cristian MiguelizHead of Production: Alejandro Falduti Producer: Diego BaltazarHead of Account: María García HerranzAccount Supervisor: Andrea Blanco Global PR Director: Sandra Azedo Chief Marketing Officer: Fernanda Romano Senior Director Marketing Activation: Johanna Gerhold Director Creative Excellence: Amy Kilty Senior Creative Marketing Manager: Ellie Stitcher Associate Creative Marketing Manager: Jake Bogira Media Manager: Jack MacVine Senior Communications Planning & Media Manager: Niall Murphy Production Company: MYGOSH Executive Producer: Natali Sussman Line Producer: Ulrich Kirchner Photographer: Alastair Philip Wipper 1st Photo Assistant: Philip Mar Serejo Art Direction: Daniel Ortiz, Vito Montolio (Dani y Vito) Retoucher: Munzer Hodayfa To Be King of Candy Crush, You'll Have to Get Through Khloé Kardashian