Keegan-Michael Key is going all in for Zynga Poker. The Emmy-winning actor and comedian has been named the mobile game’s first-ever Face of the Game, starring as an exuberant, slightly unhinged “Inner Winner” in a new campaign by Big Spaceship, directed by The Righteous Gemstones filmmaker Jody Hill.
The work marks Big Spaceship’s first campaign for Zynga Poker since beginning its new creative partnership with parent company Zynga.
Designed as the ultimate internal hype man, Key’s Inner Winner is essentially the voice in every player’s head telling them to trust their instincts, make a move, and play a few hands – regardless of what mundane task might currently be getting in the way.
And Key is not particularly interested in waiting for an invitation.
Across the series of 30-second spots, he materializes when players least expect him, bursting from barbecue smoke, invading home offices and turning everything from customer-service hold music to a robot vacuum into an excuse to find some action at the poker table.
Produced by Hill and Caviar, the campaign pairs the filmmaker’s character-driven, offbeat comedy with Key’s considerable ability to take seemingly normal behavior and push it several notches past normal.
In “Low and Slow,” Key emerges through clouds of smoker smoke to convince a backyard griller that waiting for ribs is plenty of time for poker.
“Lunch Break” finds him interrupting a home-office worker with the possibility of a “buffet of winning.” At the same time, “Hold Music” transforms the agony of waiting for customer service into an opportunity to play a few hands.
In “Robot Vac,” Key contrasts the considerably more human experience of playing Zynga Poker against the less inspiring existence of a robotic vacuum endlessly bumping into furniture.
And in “Hold Music,” Key helps a frustrated woman find the bright side of a long customer service wait by playing a few hands.
“The Inner Winner never misses a beat to snap you out of the mundane and get you playing a few hands of poker,” said Steve Street, CCO at Big Spaceship. “Keegan-Michael Key mastered the art of making this character a physically alive and funny presence.”
Street added that the agency wanted to show how even the smallest pockets of downtime – from a 30-minute lunch break to waiting on hold—can become an opportunity to play.
For Zynga, the character taps into the instinct and confidence at the heart of poker. “Poker is all about that moment of truth: trust your instincts, make your move, and play to win,” said Yaron Leyvand, Executive Vice President, Mobile Games, Zynga. “That’s the spirit behind our ‘Inner Winner’ campaign.”
Leyvand said Key brought the internal voice they envisioned to life with exactly the right energy and personality.
Key seems to agree that his own internal voice might be particularly well suited for the job. “We’ve all got that little voice in our heads telling us to trust our instincts; mine can sometimes be a little more energetic than most,” he noted. “Getting to play everyone’s Inner Winner was an absolute blast.”
The partnership will extend beyond the advertising itself. Key will also become the in-game host of Poker Dash, a new fast-paced feature coming soon to Zynga Poker that brings the Inner Winner directly into the playing experience.
The campaign launches September 1 across television, social and in-game platforms and represents the first work produced under Zynga’s recently announced creative relationship with Big Spaceship.
For a game built around knowing when to trust that little voice telling you to make a move, hiring Keegan-Michael Key to play that voice feels like a pretty safe bet.
CREDITS:
BRAND: Zynga Poker
AGENCY: Big Spaceship
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Caviar
Director: Jody Hill
