'Built Differently': Brilliant Snapchat Campaign Positions Itself Against Other Social Media Platforms

Masterminded by the legendary Colleen DeCourcy, Snapchat has launched a new brand campaign, 'Less Social Media, More Snapchat'. The aim of the campaign is to highlight what makes the platform different from social media.

The central point of the campaign is a startling film that strongly depicts the murkier sides of social media before an abrupt tone change to better represent Snapchat's vibe.

Colleen, chief creative officer at Snapchat, said, “Snapchat was built differently from the very beginning as a place where people can be their real selves with their real friends. With this campaign, we want to show the world exactly what Snapchat is not, and what it really is. We are shining a light on the unfiltered, bright yellow world of Snapchat, where people can easily share what matters to them in the moment, with the people that matter to them most.”

According to Snapchat, it was designed to be different to social media - a place for real relationships, fun and joy. Snapchat was built during the dawn of social media - a time when people began to feel the pressure of posting the perfect content in a bid to win a seemingly eternal popularity contest.

But, Snapchat claims it was designed to offer people an alternative. Ephemerality, privacy and 'real friends only' were early Snapchat tenets, and its number one use case is messaging with friends, not scrolling through a public feed. More than 75% of 13 to 34 year-olds in over 20 countries go to Snapchat every day to communicate directly with their close friends. 

The 360 campaign includes a TV ad, out-of-home, print, and digital ads that take a look at the stark differences between Snapchat and social media platforms. This will include:

• A TV spot airing during the 66th Annual Grammy Awards in the US on Sunday, February 4th.
• Bold out-of-home placements along popular roadways and high-foot-traffic locales in key cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Denver, Dallas, Philadelphia, Nashville, St. Louis, and Chicago.
• A full page ad in The New York Times’ Sunday Times, as well as takeovers on their digital properties.
• Amplification across digital platforms.
• And in the UK, Snapchat is wrapping iconic taxi cabs with bright and bold 'Less Social Media. More Snapchat.' creative, as well as running digital ads.