Snapchat really wants to be the Next Big Thing in political advertising, and, so far, it's had some middling success. But its latest political ad, which launched today, is just plain bizarre. It's also completely genius ... in an evil kind of way.
Sponsored by an organization called Secure America Now, a conservative foreign policy nonprofit, the ad appears to users not as a video, but as a filter—the decals Snapchat users can slap on a photo or video before sending it. Framed by that filter, users are supposed to take a picture that reflects how they feel "about the bad Iran deal."
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Weird, right? Snapchat is full of kids and isn't known as a hub of discussion on international relations. But the genius here is that the filter gives all those fresh-faced young 'uns a reason to become the ad—and to spread it by broadcasting the message to their friends.
Snapchat has been running other video campaign ads this election season, but the Iran deal ad is the first in filter form. It's only available to users in Ohio in advance of tonight's debate in Cleveland. And, according to Vincent Harris, the consultant who designed the campaign for Secure America Now, it's already being used "more heavily than I even expected it to be."
"Snapchat is the primary source of information for a lot of younger voters," Harris says. "So it's the best way to actually educate younger voters about large issues like this."
Of course, not everyone is happy with Snapchat over what they perceive as the platform taking sides. That, or, you know, they just don't care all that much about Iran.
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(Translation.)
