Spin Master Video Ads
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Spin Master Video Ads
In short
Spin Master is a global toy and entertainment company behind some of the world’s most loved games and family brands. They teamed up with us to create scroll-stopping video content for Let’s Roll! and Hedbanz, with one simple goal: capture attention and bring the fun of game night to life across digital platforms. We delivered a suite of playful, high-energy video ads made for social and mobile, packed with personality, laughter, and real gameplay moments, putting the spotlight on big fun, friendly competition, and games everyone wants to play.
Deliverables
Vido Ad Suites
Introduction
Spin Master is one of the biggest names in toys and games. Their catalogue spans everything from household-name toy brands to family-favourite tabletop games. Founded in Canada in the mid-90s, the company has grown into a global entertainment business.
For this project, Spin Master approached Portal with an opportunity in mind. While toys and tabletop games have always relied on strong visual storytelling, there was potential to do more with their performance marketing.
The brief was to create two ten-second video ads for two games: Beat the Parents: Let’s Roll! and Hedbanz. Although short, the ads needed to cover a lot of ground. Show families playing, clearly communicate how the games work and make it obvious why both kids and parents would want to bring them home.
Portal’s task was to take existing marketing assets and turn them into engaging, performance-optimised creative. Let’s take you through how we did it.
Time to roll
For Beat the Parents, we leaned into emotion. Kids winning against their parents is something all families understand and have experienced, so we made the decision to focus on faces. Joyful reactions, triumphant whoops. We let those emotions sell the game.
Footage of the game being played begins in second two and shows enough of the mechanics to make it broadly understandable. The gameplay section finishes by focusing on a kid’s joy at winning, so viewers leave the ad with a relatable moment that will stick with them.
Design choices were made with performance in mind. The intro slate clearly establishes the brand, but also features the faces of children having fun and the caption “That ‘I beat you’ face”. You’re left in no doubt about what this game is and who it’s for.
The gameplay section is composed so players can see how the game works even with limited screen real estate, and the end slate closes with brand, logo and a tidy visual CTA.
The music is punchy and upbeat, which helps the tempo bounce along. This is backed up by little SFX flourishes. Whooshes, dice rolls and the exclamations of families enjoying the game come together to make a fun, slightly chaotic vibe.
The bright, pulsating caption overlays are easily noticeable. That makes them ideal for sound-off environments, particularly important when it comes to mobile placements.
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Ahead of the game
Although still family-focused, our Hedbanz ad took a subtly different approach. Beat the Parents focused on kids’ victorious expressions. For Hedbanz, we opted to highlight mechanics that can be communicated visually in short bursts. This meant player reactions, a quick reveal of how the guessing mechanic works and plenty of laughter.
Our ad begins with a short branded slate, drops into a concise gameplay demo that shows “how to play” visually and finishes with a bold and colourful end slate that emphasises the brand.
Motion graphics and caption overlays are used to clarify the mechanics in a split-second. We used upbeat, family-friendly music and layered SFX, including short voiceovers, to punctuate guesses and reveals. This created a rhythm to the edit that feels fun and exciting while still being coherent.
We made sure to optimise the video in line with how the target audience, in this case, parents, scroll and absorb ad content. Readable text, clear faces and a pace that says “this game is quick to learn and quick to enjoy.”
For video ads, it’s important not to assume that the audience has their sound on. This meant that we needed to explain the mechanics visually. A bright key visual during the intro slate gives the audience an immediate insight into how the game plays. This, coupled with on-screen cues during gameplay, meant that viewers would be able to grasp the concept in just two or three frames.
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Outro
Our team turned a small pool of raw materials into two engaging video ads, both expertly optimised for a successful performance marketing campaign. Our creative used relatable family experiences to hook viewers right from the start. This approach was reinforced with upbeat audio, bright design and motion graphics that were filled with neat touches.
If your video creative could do with a refresh, why not get in touch?
Looking for a partner to create advertising and marketing materials for your next game?
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© Portal Studio 2023