"Snapchat is a camera" says messaging app's first major television spot

Messaging app Snapchat has been running its first major television ad campaign over the last few weeks. Have you seen it? The ad, which debuted during the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament, starts out with the statement that Snapchat is a camera. And then the ad starts displaying some of the app's AI features including Lens. The point being that Snapchat is a different kind of camera, albeit one that is still easy to use.

Some of the other features seen in the ad include Snap Map, which allows users to see Stories from all over the world. And of course, the ad shows a user snapping a picture and adding text for a Story. The voice-over announcer for the spot says, "It’s a camera for talking because a Snap says more than a text. So, yeah, Snapchat is a camera—where how you feel matters more than how you look."

Snapchat co-founder and SNAP CEO Evan Spiegel says that by comparing Snapchat to a camera, it points out what the app's capabilities are. You can use a camera to learn about the world, for storytelling, and for talking. When you look at a camera this way, Snapchat is a camera.


As we told you yesterday, Snapchat is testing a redesign of its redesign which will reunite stories from a member's friends and family with content from publishers, media, brands and celebrities. The first redesign caused a controversy among Snapchat members who started a petition demanding that Snapchat reverse the original UI changes. Also, Snapchat parent SNAP yesterday launched the updated version of its video recording and picture taking glasses called Spectacles. New features include water resistance, three new colors, and the ability to record HD video. And lastly, a new series of AI games was launched on Snapchat called Snappables. These games use the app's Lenses to allow players to join a rock band, play a basketball game or take on aliens. New games will be added weekly.

Check out Snapchat's television commercial by clicking on the video at the top of this story.

source: Snapchat