The “Clash from the Past” campaign for the Clash of Clans video game was a big winner at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, securing both a Grand Prix in Entertainment and a Grand Prix in Gaming on Tuesday.

Last year’s campaign from Wieden+Kennedy Portland took fans down a “what if” storyline on the premise that Clash of Clans was founded in 1982, 30 years before its actual 2012 debut by Finnish developer Supercell. The promotion included all of the nostalgic gaming goodies of the ’80s, such as an arcade-style version of the game, and some fake brand partnerships along the way. For example, Clash of Clans created its own Garbage Pail Kids cards and a General Mills cereal called “Barb’s Choco Boom Booms.”

The push also featured a fake 20-minute documentary chronicling the game’s 1982 beginnings, fake founders and enthralling past.

The “Clash from the Past” campaign has been a regular on the awards circuit. It also won silver at the Clio Awards earlier this year.

Gold winners

Five other campaigns won Gold Lions in Entertainment. They included Nike FC’s “Footballverse,” also from Wieden+Kennedy Portland; a “Dirty Laundry” campaign from ABAAD Resource Center for Gender Equality created by Leo Burnett Beirut; Duolingo’s High Valyrian Lessons” created in-house; Skittles’ “Apologize the Rainbow” from DDB Chicago; and “The CEO” from Noblex and Paramount+ created with Gut Buenos Aires.

Three campaigns won Gold Lions in Gaming: Greenpeace, which worked with VMLY&R Sao Paulo on “Los Santos +3ºC;” Zikaron BaSlon, which worked with McCann Tel Aviv on “Fighting to Remember” and Apple’s “FIFA 23 X Ted Lasso” in-house campaign created with EA Sports.