Abandoning every norm, the Bing Break would run a search query (as live) prior to every advertisement during a Channel 4 ad break. The following ad would then be the answer to the preceding search query. For example, prior to insurance brand Confused.com’s ad, Bing searched for "cheap car insurance”.

Bing was creating an intelligent link between one advertiser on TV and another – displaying the search engine’s unique credentials, and changing people's default search behaviour.We even had search terms leading back to the programme, and we made sure all of our searches actually worked in real life – no easy feat, as any search professional will tell you!

It was the first time anything like this had been tried globally. It was also an extraordinary example of collaboration, involving over 10 clients, 4 competitor media agencies, 9 creative agencies, 1 innovative TV station and 7 planners/buyers.

Our reach was immense, with each Bing Break drawing a phenomenal 4 million+ viewers.

We had clearly captured the imagination of the British public, with thousands of viewers sharing their thoughts on Twitter:“In awe of the Microsoft Bing campaign. Just witnessed the most integrated ad break I’ve ever seen.”Bing searches were up 20% over the period, and awareness increased by 17%. In fact, Bing drew level with Yahoo, its closest search engine competitor.

Most importantly, though, Google’s share of search dropped to its lowest point of 2010.Finally, the search giant had found a worthy challenger!