In the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, an investor community on Reddit called “r/WallStreetBets” took the financial world by storm, challenging the system by driving up the prices of seemingly underwhelming stocks. A media frenzy quickly ensued across the nation, causing a stir in Washington, DC, and sparking debate as to whether this was any different from what goes on at hedge funds.

Reddit was facing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We had to do something to capitalize on the moment and champion the power of Reddit communities to achieve incredible things. So, what better way than to hack the Super Bowl? But the Reddit community is notoriously tough and very anti-advertising, so we had to do it in a way that remained true to the brand. Oh, and we had only a week to make the commercial, from presentation to production to air.

The idea was simple: Let’s disrupt the biggest moment in the ad world, just like our Reddit users disrupted the financial world, by airing a low-budget commercial at the Super Bowl, proving that small groups can achieve some pretty massive things.

Our five-second spot did more than stand out. Reddit seemed to be hacking the broadcast, conspicuously. The ad started with a glitchy, branded, old-school “Please stand by” art card, which gave way to a static long-copy slide speaking to the Reddit community and their mindset, championing the power of small groups of passionate people to achieve amazing things.

Too long to read in five seconds (on purpose), the ad forced viewers to pause, rewind, or go online to get the message, which was loaded with easter eggs, including a nod to the subreddit “r/superbowl”—actually “Superb Owl,” home to a group of passionate owl lovers.

The blink-and-you’ll-miss-it static ad flashed on screen for mere seconds in what was an unconventional (and first-ever) approach to the typically big-budget, flashy commercials we expect during the Big Game. The 5-second spot aired in nine of the top 10 US markets. And was amplified on Reddit and via their owned social channels.

Our ad was covered by more than 300 media outlets, with the likes of The New York Times and Fast Company considering it the best ad of the night, while others proclaimed it the best of all time. We drove record numbers to Reddit’s site, with traffic spiking by over 25%, and won the Cannes Grand Prix Lion for Real Time Response.