Havaianas, the world’s #1 flip flop brand, has dozens of video game-themed sandals. But they’ve never really made any campaign targeting gamers. So, we had to break the ice.

We programmed cheat codes from classic video games, like The Sims and DOOM, into the brand’s e-commerce. Users could try some of their favorite cheat codes in order to unlock special discounts.

Then we posted cryptic ads on social media, inviting people to discover them. When they tried their favorite cheat codes on our website, ta-da: an exclusive discount was unlocked.

After programming cheat codes on our website, we posted cryptic ads on social media inviting people to discover them. Our target demographic was adults and young adults with interests in pop culture and the gaming world.

Using their mobile or desktop devices, they could try their favorite cheat codes on the brand’s e-commerce. When they did, ta-da: an exclusive discount was unlocked.

The cheat codes were implemented as easter eggs on the brand’s e-commerce.

Through Facebook and Instagram ads, users were directed to our website. There, users had two different ways to enter their favorite cheat codes: they could type them on their keyboard or, if they were accessing via mobile, they could tap the cheat code on a digital NES controller that served as a “gate” to access the website.

With a virtually no-cost execution, sales went up 21% during the campaign. And on top of that, the Street Fighter Havaianas sold out.

Our gamer followers were surprised on social media, and the brand could start to further develop a relationship with them.