Ahead of the premiere of X-Men: Apocalypse this Friday, 20th Century Fox is making an enormous Snapchat push. The film will not only overtake all of the ephemeral platform’s lenses for 24 hours today, but fans will also be able to purchase tickets to the movie via Snapchat ads.
The move marks the first-ever sponsored lenses takeover, according to AdWeek, which notes that, rather than vomiting rainbows and puppy ears, Snapchatters will only be able to transform themselves into nine X-Men characters for the next 24 hours. The new crop of filters includes Beast, Professor X, Quicksilver, Apocalypse, Storm, Nightcrawler, Cyclops, Mystique, and Magneto.
While other brands have sponsored lenses before (prices are rumored to range from $350,000 to $750,000 for a single filter, per AdWeek), such a move can result in massive viewership. A recent filter created by Taco Bell for Cinco de Mayo reportedly garnered 224 million views in one day.
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Additionally, 20th Century Fox is tapping into Snapchat’s ecommerce ads for the forthcoming X-Men film. Users can swipe up on video ads inside Snapchat Discover ads that will offer the option to purchase tickets through Fandango and Movietickets.com. This isn’t the first time that the company has experimented with ecommerce options. Last month, Lancôme and Target both ran shoppable ads within Cosmopolitan’s Discover channel.
The Snapchat campaign represents the latest component of the film’s digital push. In March, alongside app maker Victorious, the franchise premiered an X-Men Movies App for superfans featuring exclusive content, giveaways, and other interactive features.
