Gatorade Is Reprising the Super Bowl Dunk on Snapchat

Gatorade is bringing the digital dunk back to Snapchat for the Super Bowl, letting users superimpose a Gatorade bath over their video selfies. The sports-drink maker said it would reprise its popular Snapchat ad from last year's game, but with a few updates. "We figured with the success we had last year why not give it another try with a little bit of a twist," said Kenny Mitchell, head of consumer engagement at Gatorade. The lens will go live Sunday and last for 48 hours, during which people will be able to select it from Snapchat's library of animated filters. Snapchat basically invented the sponsored lens and popularized the commercial use of augmented reality. Serena Williams and other celebs used the digital Gatorade dunk last year, and the campaign generated 165 million impressions, according to the brand. This year, Dwyane Wade will help promote it, and there will be more interactive elements. People can choose the color of the drink, for example, to show support for their favored team. "We hope to see similar success or even more for this Super Bowl," Mr. Mitchell said. Snapchat has been courting advertisers throughout the football season, and it has a special relationship with the National Football League, which posts videos from almost every game and related content. Snapchat had NFL ad packages that cost more than $5 million to sponsor the whole season, deals that could include vertical video ads and lenses, depending on the advertiser's spending commitment. Gatorade would not disclose the terms of its deal with Snapchat. However, Snapchat has pegged the value of a Super Bowl lens at between $400,000 and $600,000, and could expect anywhere from 7 million to 20 million plays. A "play" is when someone actually tries on the lens. A "view" includes people who see that play shared by friends. The price and likely number of plays vary depending on what position -- first or somewhere further along -- the lens occupies in the library of options. Gatorade owner Pepsico also has a Super Bowl lens running that will put people's selfie videos on a virtual Jumbotron and play music by Lady Gaga, the star of Pepsi's halftime show. Snapchat declined comment for this story. This will be the first Super Bowl that there will be more than one sponsored lens for Snapchat users to choose. Snapchat has landed sponsors with vertical video ads, including Anheuser-Busch, which is reprising the Bud Bowl on the app. The beer-maker plans to have a robust presence alongside football coverage inside Snapchat, it announced on Friday.

Gatorade Is Reprising the Super Bowl Dunk on Snapchat

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