Supercell's 'Brawl Stars' Lunar New Year ad embraces the big fight for the holiday

Forget food, forget red envelopes, let’s have a brawl! Supercell’s Lunar New Year film wants families to get together over its "Brawl Stars" game as they return home for the holiday festivities. The mobile game giant’s first campaign from Mother Shanghai tells the story of a boy attempting to discover the identity of a mysterious, formidable player, the Brawler. A series of stylized vignettes suggest they could be anyone, from the hairdresser to a grandpa, a road sweeper or a principal, or perhaps, the neighborhood butcher. To direct the film, Supercell and Mother tapped acclaimed Chinese director and screenwriter Diao Yinan, known for weaving suspenseful tales. To create the film he reunited the crew from his film “Black Coal, Thin Ice,” which won the Golden Bear for Best Film at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival. Ultimately, the Brawler’s identity is never revealed, underscoring the point of the ad: “Brawl Stars” is team battle game, fun for players of all levels. The ad’s distinctive approach was intentional. “Now's the time of year we're bombarded with traditional Lunar New Year commercials filled with red, lucky symbols, plot lines involving family reunions,” said Mother Shanghai Partners Winson and Wanshi in a statement. “We knew we wanted to write a story that had nothing to do with any of that."

Supercell's 'Brawl Stars' Lunar New Year ad embraces the big fight for the holiday

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