SGN uses celebrity Ken Jeong of The Hangover in a funny Cookie Jam ad

Humor seems to be the prevailing trend in mobile gaming ads. The latest to show this is mobile game publisher SGN, which used comedian actor Ken Jeong from The Hangover films in its latest ad for its Cookie Jam match-3 mobile game.

Jeong, a doctor who became a comedian and actor, wears a big cookie outfit in the ad. He walks into a beauty parlor and gives out Cookie Jam to brighten up the ladies under the hair dryers. The SGN ad targets older women, its main audience for the casual game.

Los Angeles-based SGN has more money to spend on ads, as it received a $130 million investment from Net Marble, which is now the largest shareholder at SGN. The global ad campaign launches today, and it’s part of SGN’s effort to chase after global hit Candy Crush Saga from King. Cookie Jam launched in February 2014 as a match-3 puzzle game, and it has been a consistent title in the top-grossing charts on the app stores.

“I had a great time teaming up with SGN on the new ads for Cookie Jam,” said Jeong in a statement. “Creatively, I loved working on these spots. There was a genuine sense of collaboration and vision that helped to shape a great series of ads.”

The ad comes out a day after Machine Zone launched a funny ad with Mariah Carey to advertise Game of War: Fire Age. Supercell also launched a memorable Super Bowl commercial with actor Liam Neeson. The funny ads aren’t cheap, and it’s a sign of both rising table stakes and a broadening audience for mobile games.

“Research on using humor in advertising is as old as many of the jokes being used. It comes down to who your target audience is. A Nielsen report from 2013 tells us that younger brains are more receptive to quick edits and slapstick humor. But for most of us, it isn’t really about the humor itself,” VB Insight analyst Stewart Rogers said. “Rather, it is about extremes. We tend to remember both the brilliantly funny ads, and those that are ridiculously lame. The middle ground is where ads go to die.”

The ads were created and produced by L.A.-based advertising and production agency, Stun Creative.

“We’ve built an incredibly strong user base for Cookie Jam with over 60 million downloads, and have tremendous confidence that the new ad creative will propel this game to the next level,” said Josh Brooks, the senior vice president of brand strategy and marketing at SGN. “Dr. Ken is wickedly smart and unabashedly silly at the same time. With his wide appeal, this campaign is primed to broaden SGN’s mobile gaming audience. The commercial spots will be a great tool to promote the game across TV, mobile, and social channels.”