Galactic Pinball
View the case- Brand
- Samsung
- Year
- 2023
- Objective
- Product Launch
- Industry
- Tech & Telecom
- Mechanic
- Arcade & Action
- Platform
- Web
- Agency
- Borabora Studios
Objective
Samsung and Leo Burnett needed a way to make the Galaxy Z Flip5's fold instantly understandable at launch, so they built the campaign around a mechanic everyone already knows how to play. Pinball's flipper action doubles as a literal demonstration of the phone's flip, letting "Join the flipside" make its point without a single spec sheet.
Solution
The game opens on a retro-futuristic pinball table in the browser: launch the ball, work the flippers, keep it alive. Landing the right shots triggers mini-games built into the table, each tied to a different Z Flip5 feature, and clearing one flips the whole table upside down as play shifts into its next mode. A run ends when the ball drains, dropping your score onto a local leaderboard; step up to one of the arcade cabinets installed at Samsung retail points, though, and the same game connects to a global ranking with Samsung devices as prizes for the top scores.
- 1
The player opens the game in the browser, landing on a pinball table styled in the retro-futuristic look of the Galaxy Z Flip5 campaign, with sound design built specifically for the game rather than stock audio.
- 2
The core loop is classic pinball: the player keeps the ball in play with flippers and racks up points, a mechanic requiring no separate tutorial.
- 3
Hitting specific targets on the table triggers mini-games modeled on real smartphone features, and switching into one of these modes changes the table's environment and, in a direct nod to the campaign's "Join the flipside" line, flips the screen upside down so the player continues on an inverted table.
- 4
At the end of a session, the player submits their score to a leaderboard localized to their market, where they can compare results with other players.
- 5
Placing on the global leaderboard gives the player a chance to win a Samsung device, providing the incentive to keep playing.
- 6
The global ranking is not visible on the website itself but only on physical arcade cabinets placed at retailers, including a flipper machine inside the Galaxy Experience Space pop-up at Mall of Berlin, so seeing a global placement requires visiting one of these offline locations.
