Happy Monday everybody!! Were hoping that everyone, or at least most of you guys watched the Super Bowl and saw the New England Patriots beat the Seattle Seahawks. Although the Super Bowl last night was one of the most exciting championships to watch in the past few years, the commercials did not seem as great as previous years. Do you guys agree? However we weren’t disappointed after watching Liam Neeson’s commercial with Supercell and their very popular smartphone game called Clash of Clans. As we know Liam Neeson is most popularly known for his violent and crude character, which he has displayed in the past few years in the movie series Taken. Supercell picked a celebrity like Liam Neeson to attract an older audience that may be new to mobile gaming, an audience who may be fed up with the game and wanting to quit, and finally an audience looking for a new mobile game to spend their free time playing. Supercell picked an all-in-one knockout actor to provide the audience with a glimpse of what the Clash of Clans experience entails. This commercial ran up a total cost of $9 million, which is a lot of money to say the least. However, according to Forbes, as of 2013 Supercell totaled a revenue of $892 million. With this being said, the commercial is sure to boost their revenue yet again.
After watching this Super Bowl commercial it is evident that Supercell effectively utilizes George Gerbner’s Cultivation Theory. According to Griffin (2011) resonance and dramatic violence coincide directly with Supercell’s Super Bowl commercial. At the start of the commercial the viewer sees Liam Neeson’s ‘village’ completely destroyed from another player. This experience is relatively common with this particular game, an experience that players deal with multiple times throughout each day. Current players who viewed this commercial can relate to the anger and need for revenge that Neeson displays. This combination amplifies the cultivation of the game through the dramatic violence displayed when a village is attacked in both the commercial and in the game itself. Supercell’s brilliant use of Neeson and the Cultivation Theory definitely has changed the opportunity to market mobile gaming and has stretched the boundaries of what it takes to make a successful Super Bowl commercial, that reaches a larger audience effectively. If you haven’t seen the commercial it is linked to this post, go watch it! What other commercials from Super Bowl XLIX did you enjoy?
-Colby Cummings, Connor Gold, Chase Seymour
IMC Hawks Blog 
I thought this commercial was great and it caught my attention immediately when I saw who the actor was. He was the perfect actor for this commercial based on the movies he has done in the past. Another commercial that I enjoyed was the Ecuador commercial because they were the first foreign country to have one in the super bowl.
It was a genius move on Supercell’s part to choose Liam. As you said, his voice is easily identified, which automatically grabs the viewer’s attention, and his notorious roles that involve seeking revenge directly aligns with the Clash of Clans gameplay.
This was also my favorite commercial from the Super Bowl. I found it both hilarious and also slightly more believable than I think Liam Neeson would want to admit. With direction that the Taken series is headed, specifically the release of the third film(!?), I could very well see this being the plot for Taken 4. If theres one clan in the game you don’t take down, its certainly Liam Neeson’s.
I believe you are right! Liam Neeson seemed to have plenty of experience and was very involved with Clash of Clans. As if this commercial wouldn’t rake in hundreds of thousands new players and consumers, the thought of this being the plot for Taken 4 is hilarious, and would the ultimate marketing scheme for Supercell!