Burgeranch is an Israeli fast food chain that launched a new burger deal called “combina,” which basically means outsmarting the system with the deal and getting a whole lot more food for less money.
McCann Erickson Israel then built an unusual engagement campaign that followed the same combina logic. The official campaign drove users to an online quiz that was impossible to answer correctly. Meanwhile, clues were seeded on how to “hack” the quiz by changing certain details in the URL. Once word spread, the campaign took off, and what looked like a risky strategy became a success story.
A prank with a purpose
The smart part is that the campaign does not just talk about combina. It makes you do it. The brand promise is “more for less if you are clever.” The campaign mechanic is “win by being clever.”
The mechanism: impossible quiz, then a discoverable loophole
The experience starts with frustration. You cannot win honestly. Then it shifts into discovery. If you notice the URL, and you experiment, and you share what you found, you can beat the system. That arc turns a standard promotional quiz into a social object people want to trade tips about.
In consumer internet cultures where people love to “beat the system,” campaigns can scale faster through shared discovery than through paid media alone.
Why it lands: you are not just a participant, you are “in on it”
Most promotions put the brand above the user. This one flatters the user. It frames the audience as clever enough to spot the workaround, and that changes the emotional tone from “contest” to “inside joke.”
Standalone takeaway: If your proposition is about smart value, you can make the audience feel smart by designing a loophole that is easy to learn, satisfying to exploit, and irresistible to share.
The business intent behind the “hack”
The intent is to create talkability that matches the product story. A deal that feels like outsmarting the system needs a launch that feels like outsmarting the system. Done well, the tactic does two jobs at once. It drives attention and it pre-frames the offer as a savvy choice rather than a cheap one.
What to steal from Combina
- Align mechanic to meaning. The interaction should embody the product promise, not sit beside it.
- Engineer a shareable discovery. People share tips, not slogans.
- Keep the “hack” simple. One obvious tweak beats a complex exploit. The point is participation, not technical skill.
- Control the risk envelope. Make sure the loophole cannot spill into real security issues or uncontrolled costs.
- Reward the behaviour you want. The payoff should reinforce “smart value,” not just random freebies.
A few fast answers before you act
What is the Burgeranch “Combina” hack campaign?
It is a launch campaign built around an impossible online quiz, where users are nudged to discover that they can “win” by changing parts of the URL. The discovery spreads by word of mouth and mirrors the idea of outsmarting the system.
Why make the quiz impossible in the first place?
Because frustration creates a reason to look for a workaround. The moment a user suspects there is a trick, the campaign shifts from answering questions to solving a puzzle, which is more social and more shareable.
What makes this different from typical gamified promotions?
The game is not the questions. The game is the loophole. That design turns the audience into collaborators who trade knowledge, rather than isolated contestants.
What are the main risks of “hack-themed” marketing?
Confusion, trust issues, and accidental security optics. If people think you are encouraging real hacking, or if the mechanic resembles a vulnerability, the campaign can backfire quickly.
How do you adapt this pattern safely today?
Design an intentional, harmless “cheat code” that is clearly part of the experience, set strict limits on rewards, and make the discovery feel playful rather than illicit.
