Warner Bros. and Zynga bring Wonka to Words With Friends

Quiet up and listen down, because Warner Bros. and Zynga have partnered on a campaign ahead of the release of Wonka that will bring the chocolatier to mobile game Words With Friends 2.

Starting on December 12, Willy Wonka, played by Timothée Chalamet, will appear as a custom-made avatar that players can defeat to win in-game rewards. The word “chocolatier” will also be the word of the day on Tuesday, earning players who use it extra points and directing those who tap on the word from their home screens to more information about the film.

To complement the integration, Warner Bros. bought a first impression takeover to ensure that Wonka ads are the first to run when players boot up a Zynga game on December 15, the day of the film’s release.

Other in-game commercials for the movie will run throughout the week. 

For the rest of the month, Zynga will also weave Wonka IP into its slots and matching games, the latter of which play similarly to Candy Crush.

The campaign is the result of combined efforts from Warner Bros. and Zynga’s in-house marketing teams as well as Hearts & Science, Warner Bros.’ media agency of record. All three began working on the campaign in August.

Zynga declined to disclose the campaign budget.

Brands often turn to gaming to reach young consumers, but in this case, it’s Zynga that’s hoping to attract young Wonka fans to its word game, said Gabrielle Heyman, head of global brand partnerships at Zynga.

Words With Friends was the talk of the town amongst young people when it was released in 2009, but its audience has since aged, as mobile tends to be the platform of choice for older gamers.

“It has gotten to a little bit more late 30s and 40s,” Heyman said. “I would love to see some younger audiences back in.”

She maintained that the spending power that the game’s Gen X and Boomer player base has “is one of the most attractive targets for brands.”

“But, I still want to bring younger audiences in because it’s a great way to expand the cross-generational connection,” she added.

Heyman sees playing with older family members as the route back to Words With Friends for those in their 20s, especially as it integrates a franchise that appeals to multiple generations.

“Our current players grew up with the Gene Wilder [Willy Wonka film], so we want to bridge those audiences,” she said.

Warner Bros. was not available to comment by publication time.