How do you turn branded content into a game that want to play? By having them try and get targeted by our films. 

As we noticed more and more conversation on Reddit and other platforms about algorithms and how to avoid or subvert them – we used this insight to power an entirely new style of data-driven campaign that felt of the zeitgeist. 

By ‘flipping’ the traditional targeted advertising model on its head, we created a competitive ‘internet sport’ where punters actively sought to get targeted by Samsung ads to win the new Galaxy Flip4 phone. And so ‘Flipvertising’ was born. 

It centred around three online films we hid on YouTube. Each one watched would alter the viewers algorithm so they were more likely to see the winning ad, and contained a clue that hinted at what they should Google to find the next film. 

To be targeted by the winning ad, clue-hunters needed to search three specific terms via Google that linked to our films. Each film was at first glance an amusing product demo but also contained a clue that drove to the next search term to enter the retargeting pool. Whoever watched all three films went into the final retargeting pool and was served the winning ad as a YouTube pre-roll.  

The best part? As people searched to find the right keywords, they inadvertently saw tons of positive content and reviews across all their social platforms, highlighting the device’s benefits in a non-advertising way.