Snapchat has celebrated the creativity and innovation of Australian marketers, agencies and advertisers in 2022, with a look back at some of the best-augmented reality (AR) campaigns to land on the platform this year.
Throughout 2022, Snapchat partnered with local brands, government organisations and global giants to bring augmented reality-powered fun, utility and education to its community of more than 7 million Australians.
Through ground-breaking campaigns which inspired, entertained and drove the community to take action, this year Aussie ad land flexed its AR muscle and leaned into technology that is being used by the 250 million Snapchatters around the world, who engage with augmented reality more than 6 billion times every day.
Matt Coote, Snapchat’s head of enterprise ANZ, said: “From creating a solar-eclipse with AR, to turning the Harbour Bridge into a fantasy world, and even enrolling to vote, Gen Z and Millennial Snapchatters across the country connected deeply with brands and campaigns which embraced the power of augmented reality to help our community learn something new, express themselves, have fun and share in the moment with friends and family.”
Haran Ramachandran, Snapchat’s ANZ head of creative services, said: “2022 may just have been the year that AR advertising went mainstream. But it was also a year that saw creative, ground-breaking uses of AR in Australia really take flight, and we’ve loved partnering with home-grown marketers and agencies who are showing the world how it’s done.”
In celebration of the year that was in AR, here are ten of the best locally created augmented reality Snapchat campaigns of 2022:
Samsung – AR’Clipse for Samsung Galaxy S22
Celebrating the launch of Samsung’s Galaxy S22 Series, Snap and Samsung Electronics Australia created a first-of-its-kind solar eclipse in AR, launched in Febuary. It highlighted the flagship device’s low light ‘nightography’ photo feature.
Using AR to create an eclipse during daylight hours, the Lens used sky segmentation technology to create a visual display in which the moon covered the sun to turn day to night.
Joanna Baxter, Samsung Electronics Australia Head Of Marketing Communications, said: “The Galaxy S22 Series devices have amazing, market leading camera capabilities for photography and videography in all lighting conditions.
“With the Galaxy S22 Series’ revolutionary new Nightography features, we wanted to really bring this to the fore and inspire a sense of creativity and celebration with our community.
“TIn the lead up to the AR’clipse event, the reception from our community on Snapchat has been strong. We’re confident the campaign with Snapchat will drive awareness, engagement and conversion for our new product.”
PepsiCo – Doritos 3D Crunch
Doritos turned to Snapchat to flip what a taste test could look like, bringing to life the product consumption experience in a whole new way, which was launched in May.
Playing into other-worldly elements, the campaign featured a Face Lens that opens up the Snapchatter’s mind like a triangle, revealing the new 3D Chip in all its galactic glory. Once the head opens, the user enters a kaleidoscopic world of Doritos 3D.
Katherine Twomey, Doritos marketing manager, said: “Customers have been demanding the return of the 3D chip for years. We wanted to re-introduce young Aussies to the chip and give them an opportunity to interact with it before they buy it on shelf. Snapchat’s AR features were the perfect solution allowing us to introduce the chip in a creative, engaging way and deliciously fun.”
Australian Electoral Commission – 2022 Federal Election Campaign
To educate and engage young voters in this year’s federal election, Snap and the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) launched a series of in-app tools on Snapchat in May. The partnership leveraged the power of AR to drive enrolments, educate on voter services and share key information around polling day.
Evan Ekin-Smyth, Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) spokesperson, said: “It’s been great working with Snapchat to create fun and engaging content that will establish voting as a rite of passage. The AEC wants to help young people enrol and learn how to vote correctly, so this becomes a lifelong habit that will have a positive impact on themselves, their friends, families and communities.”
MECCA – MAC Cosmetics campaign
In an Australian first, leading beauty retailer MECCA Brands (“MECCA”) launched a new Dynamic Shopping Lens on Snapchat back in May
The experience enabled users to “sync their lips” in AR, browse up-to-date inventory from the M·A·C Cosmetics (“M·A·C”) lipstick line available at MECCA, virtually ‘try them on’ and make product purchases directly from the Snapchat app.
Hannah Fillis, MECCA’s head of digital marketing, said: “A premium customer experience is intrinsic to MECCA, so we’re excited to bring the M·A·C lipstick range to our Gen Z audience on Snapchat – leveraging AR filter technology and our exceptional product selection for a seamless virtual try-on and shopping experience with Snap.”
NSW Department of Education – Everyday Maths Hub
To encourage young people to start thinking about Maths as a subject that can unlock different opportunities for their future, NSW Department of Education partnered with Snapchat to promote the Everyday Maths Hub for users aged 13-18, which was launched in June.
Through an engaging AR experience, Snapchatters could ‘calculate their future’ to see the different types of careers they could have by learning maths, landing on a future career by the open mouth facial expression.
Unilever – LYNX Epic Fresh Fragrance launch
To launch the LYNX Epic Fresh fragrance in Australia, Unilever turned to Snapchat Leveraging the transformative power of AR, Snapchatters could turn into the anime version of themselves and master epic fresh style, by simply tapping the product on screen, launched in August.
Bringing the product to life for the Snapchat community, this AR experience allowed consumers to engage with the product in a fun way.
Prime Video – The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series finale
Amazon Prime Video brought the island kingdom of Númenor to life for fans with an AR Landmarker experience on the Sydney Harbour Bridge – the first use of this technology in Australia.
In the lead up to the anticipated season finale, fans of The Rings of Power could visit the iconic Harbour Bridge and watch in awe as the entire structure is transformed to the entrance of Númenor, which was brought to life for the very first time in Prime Video’s epic series. With the Lens, in a matter of seconds, the Harbour Bridge Pylons will turn to statues of Númenor.
Sarah Moore, Rufus powered by Initiative Digital Director, Sarah Moore said: “Our aim was to offer Tolkien fans new and existing an opportunity to engage with the epic series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
“Through Snapchat’s Landmarker technology, we have been able to celebrate the series through new and innovative technology and continue to forge connections between two worlds. We’re grateful for the opportunity with Prime Video and Snapchat to bring to life this first-to-market opportunity for Australian customers.”
LEGO – Rebuild the World
LEGO Australia launched its first World Lens AR experience, the Rebuild the World Lens, utilising Snap’s AR technology to invite Snapchatters to become part of LEGO Australia’s TVC and solve a brick challenge.
Users could choose from one of three challenges, building solo, with friends or other nearby users to piece together a deconstructed LEGO creation.
The campaign demonstrated how LEGO play can unlock an individual’s creative potential through building and rebuilding, including a gamification element allowing users to replay the game and improve their score.
Tinder – Big Rainbow Project
To help Australia’s first BIG landmark celebrating regional LGBTQIA+ pride and inclusion find a home in rural Australia, in June Snapchatters were given the opportunity to virtually place the Big Rainbow in their world, sharing with their friends and swiping up to vote.
Designed with members of the LGBTQIA+ and First Nations communities, the Big Rainbow has lived permanently in Daylesford, Victoria.
Sunglass Hut – ‘Every Shade of You’ shoppable Lenses
To help Snapchatters find the shades that suited them without ever leaving home, Sunglass Hut launched their ‘Find Every Shade Of You’ campaign on Snapchat in November.
Using the power of the platform’s Dynamic Catalogue and Shoppable AR, users were able to scroll through a vast selection of sunglasses, virtually try them on, and then purchase within the app.