Penny: Shouldn’t commenters be considered campaign co-creators?
October 2, 2026
Are commenters co-creators? German supermarket chain, PENNY, thinks so. On social media platforms such as TikTok, entertainment no longer ends with the post itself, it says. Commenters play an equally important role in shaping the relevance, momentum, and appeal of a campaign through their wit and perspectives.
Yet unlike content creators, they have rarely been recognised for their contribution, despite many users calling on TikTok to do exactly that. PENNY is now changing the game.
The supermarket chain has launched Comment Coupons, rewarding particularly entertaining comments posted from June 1 until the end of September with shopping vouchers worth up to €50, regardless of whether they relate to PENNY or not.
The campaign was created and produced by Serviceplan agency, Saint Elmo’s; social media agency, Charles & Charlotte; digital agency, Plan.Net Belgium & media agency, PION3ERS.
To assess the quality and impact of comments in a scalable and fair way, PENNY uses a proprietary AI scoring system. The technology analyses not only community engagement, including likes and replies, but also how closely a comment relates to the original content. Is the connection especially funny or entertaining? Based on the AI score, comments are assigned coupon values of €10, €25, or €50. The higher the score, the higher the reward.
The idea extends PENNY’s brand mission, creating genuine moments of joy in everyday life. At a time when success is often measured solely by views and follower counts, PENNY is deliberately focusing on a different type of contribution, namely the spontaneous moments of humour and creativity that make people smile.
“Rewarding people for the joy they bring to others is a logical expression of our Real Joy brand platform. With Comment Coupons, we are not simply broadcasting a message. We are putting the people at the centre who help shape communication every day,” stated Jan Flemming, head of marketing, PENNY.
The campaign immediately struck a chord with TikTok users. Rewarded commenters enthusiastically shared their experiences on their own channels, with many even posting videos of their shopping trips while redeeming their Comment Coupons. Influencers also noticed that many of their followers were being rewarded by PENNY and subsequently created entertaining content inspired by the initiative.
PENNY has so far identified more than 4,000 entertaining comments on TikTok and rewarded them with coupons totalling €45,000.
“Posts are only the beginning of communication. On TikTok, their true impact unfolds in the comments. Often, the comments are even funnier than the posts themselves and help amplify them. With Comment Coupons, we reward everyone who actively brings joy to the internet through witty comments. TikTok doesn’t do that. As a result, ‘Real Joy’ naturally becomes a highly credible brand asset for PENNY,” stated Matthias Harbeck, CCO, Saint Elmo’s.
The idea also became an OOH campaign. In the last two weeks of September, digital billboards featuring comments rewarded by PENNY were displayed in Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Munich, Frankfurt, Leipzig, and Münster. The billboards encouraged commenters to tag @pennydeutschland under their viral comments for a chance to receive their own Comment Coupon.
“The best TikTok moments do not always happen in the video itself. Often, the punchline is hidden in the comments. A great comment can completely change a video or give it an entirely new direction. That is why, with Comment Coupons, we wanted to reward the people who turn a video into something more than a short clip. If you help shape entertainment, you deserve more than a few likes. TikTok has never rewarded that contribution. PENNY does,” added Paulina Schumann, co-founder, social media agency, Charles & Charlotte.
Are commenters co-creators? German supermarket chain, PENNY, thinks so. On social media platforms such as TikTok, entertainment no longer ends with the post itself, it says. Commenters play an equally important role in shaping the relevance, momentum, and appeal of a campaign through their wit and perspectives.
Yet unlike content creators, they have rarely been recognised for their contribution, despite many users calling on TikTok to do exactly that. PENNY is now changing the game.
The supermarket chain has launched Comment Coupons, rewarding particularly entertaining comments posted from June 1 until the end of September with shopping vouchers worth up to €50, regardless of whether they relate to PENNY or not.
The campaign was created and produced by Serviceplan agency, Saint Elmo’s; social media agency, Charles & Charlotte; digital agency, Plan.Net Belgium & media agency, PION3ERS.
To assess the quality and impact of comments in a scalable and fair way, PENNY uses a proprietary AI scoring system. The technology analyses not only community engagement, including likes and replies, but also how closely a comment relates to the original content. Is the connection especially funny or entertaining? Based on the AI score, comments are assigned coupon values of €10, €25, or €50. The higher the score, the higher the reward.
The idea extends PENNY’s brand mission, creating genuine moments of joy in everyday life. At a time when success is often measured solely by views and follower counts, PENNY is deliberately focusing on a different type of contribution, namely the spontaneous moments of humour and creativity that make people smile.
“Rewarding people for the joy they bring to others is a logical expression of our Real Joy brand platform. With Comment Coupons, we are not simply broadcasting a message. We are putting the people at the centre who help shape communication every day,” stated Jan Flemming, head of marketing, PENNY.
The campaign immediately struck a chord with TikTok users. Rewarded commenters enthusiastically shared their experiences on their own channels, with many even posting videos of their shopping trips while redeeming their Comment Coupons. Influencers also noticed that many of their followers were being rewarded by PENNY and subsequently created entertaining content inspired by the initiative.
PENNY has so far identified more than 4,000 entertaining comments on TikTok and rewarded them with coupons totalling €45,000.
“Posts are only the beginning of communication. On TikTok, their true impact unfolds in the comments. Often, the comments are even funnier than the posts themselves and help amplify them. With Comment Coupons, we reward everyone who actively brings joy to the internet through witty comments. TikTok doesn’t do that. As a result, ‘Real Joy’ naturally becomes a highly credible brand asset for PENNY,” stated Matthias Harbeck, CCO, Saint Elmo’s.
The idea also became an OOH campaign. In the last two weeks of September, digital billboards featuring comments rewarded by PENNY were displayed in Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Munich, Frankfurt, Leipzig, and Münster. The billboards encouraged commenters to tag @pennydeutschland under their viral comments for a chance to receive their own Comment Coupon.
“The best TikTok moments do not always happen in the video itself. Often, the punchline is hidden in the comments. A great comment can completely change a video or give it an entirely new direction. That is why, with Comment Coupons, we wanted to reward the people who turn a video into something more than a short clip. If you help shape entertainment, you deserve more than a few likes. TikTok has never rewarded that contribution. PENNY does,” added Paulina Schumann, co-founder, social media agency, Charles & Charlotte.