Dream Games has drafted in basketball icon LeBron James to star in a new Royal Kingdom ad.
[Update: It’s not just LeBron, it turns out: Dream Games’ Royal Kingdom campaign also includes Jimmy Fallon, Shakira and Big Bang Theory duo Kaley Cuoco and Johnny Galecki. Follow the links to see the creatives.]
Royal Kingdom is the Turkish studio’s second global launch after Royal Match, which has been a regular fixture in the top grossing charts. According to March’s Appmagic estimates, Royal Match was the third top grossing mobile game globally, with $147m earned last month alone. Royal Kingdom earned around $13.5m for the same period, according to Appmagic.
The LeBron ads are, as far as we’re aware, the first big brand marketing push for Royal Kingdom. Dream’s marketing for the game to date has previously been focused on UA.
The ad riffs on the basketball star’s habit of reading before matches, suggesting he’s actually busy playing Royal Kingdom instead.
LeBron is not the first famous face to promote Dream Games’ titles. In 2022 it reportedly paid music mogul Simon Cowell over £1m to star in an ad for the game. British celebrities Amanda Holden, Olly Murs, Dermot O’Leary and Tess Daly have also been well remunerated for their promotion of the game.
As we reported around the game’s launch, Royal Kingdom’s similarities to Royal Match have caused some industry watchers to question whether the game will complement or cannibalise its predecessor.
While some suggested there would be some cannibalisation or that Royal Kingdom would struggle to replicate the success of Dream’s first title, others pointed to the success of Playrix’s model as an example of how the strategy can work. Read the full analysis here.
