Machine Zone is set to advertise in the Super Bowl, according to people familiar with the matter.
The mobile game developer was in last year's big game, marketing its "Game of War: Fire Age" app with an ad that starred Kate Upton. This year it's slated to run a 30-second spot for "Mobile Strike," a mobile war game set in more modern times than "Game of War." The ad will be created by TwoFifteenMcCann, the Interpublic agency's San Francisco office.
Machine Zone representatives did not respond to requests for comment and McCann declined to comment.
Machine Zone's ad from last year's Super Bowl followed the launch of its first global campaign for "Game of War: Fire Age," which began in November 2014 and also starred Kate Upton. The company in September launched an ad for the same game featuring Mariah Carey.
More recently, in November, the company launched "Mobile Strike," with ads that feature Arnold Schwarzenegger. It wasn't immediately clear if he would appear in the Super Bowl ad. Mobile Strike is currently No. 9 in the top-grossing chart of the iOS App Store. "Clash of Clans" is No. 1 and "Game of War" is No. 3.
Several mobile game developers advertised in last year's game. Supercell bought time to advertise "Clash of Clans," the more popular competitor to "Game of War." Barton F. Graf created the "Clash of Clans" spot, which starred Liam Neeson. UCool ran a spot in the fourth quarter last year for "Heroes Charge." It wasn't immediately clear whether those games would be advertised in this year's Super Bowl, or whether those developers would be advertising anything at all in the game.
