Snapchat Filter Ads

According to Snapchat, the app “reaches 41% of all 18 to 34 year-olds in the United States” [Source]. So what can advertisers do with this information and utilize it for their benefit? They can use the app to target their ads to this specific audience. Through the use of filters on Snapchat, such as the one above from Taco Bell, Snapchat users can entertain themselves while simultaneously providing free advertisements to their Snapchat friends. It’s free in the sense that Snapchat users themselves aren’t paid to promote the advertisement when using the filter, unlike celebs like Kim K. who are paid in exchange for promoting a certain product.

Snapchat is an interesting social media platform to promote ads on. The platform itself sees advertising as a way of storytelling to friends and family. It’s the epitome of what Danesi sees as the fun and entertaining part of advertising. The ads on Snapchat are interactive, in which users can manipulate the filters onto their faces to create either pictures or videos to include the brand of the company. This can lead to the “sharing” aspect of social media that advertisers utilize to gain a bigger audience – once a user shares something like a post, or in this case a filter, then the friends and family who enjoy the filter will want to use it too and share it around with even more people, leading to greater success for the ad.