Let’s be honest—ads are annoying. Especially when they interrupt your favourite YouTube playlist. But what if an ad didn’t feel like an ad at all? What if it blended seamlessly into the music you love? Introducing “The UnderCover Ad” by Standard Bank.

We started by analysing what South Africans were listening to on YouTube Music—from Rock’n’roll to Gospel and everything in between. Then, with just a single script, we created 17 unique versions of the ad, each crafted to match a different genre. If you loved Reggae, you’d hear a Reggae track. More into Jazz? You’d get a Jazz rendition instead. Every playlist had its own version, making the ad feel less like an interruption and more like part of the music.

In digital advertising, the rule has always been to disrupt. But we did the opposite—standing out by seamlessly blending in. This was personalisation at scale, creating ads that felt native to the platform.

The campaign delivered over 40 million views, up to 40% view-through on videos over 90 seconds, R0.02 cost per view, a 3.9% lift in positive sentiment—zero playlists killed. A banking ad that people actually listened to.