City of Chicago and Ogilvy Launch First-Of-Its-Kind Snapchat Lens Encouraging Residents to Wear Masks

To encourage Chicago residents to wear masks when in public, Ogilvy Chicago and the City of Chicago has launched a first-of-its-kind Snapchat augmented reality lens that deploys a new technology that only allows users to unlock the lens when they put on a mask. The social media platform is popular amongst Millennials and Gen-Zers, a demographic that has seen a recent rise in Covid-19 cases in Chicago, and therefore believe is key to combatting the spread of the virus in the City.

“Our youth are smart, civically-minded people,” said Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot. “They know their personal actions help keep them and their friends and families safe. By using this fun, unique tool we reach them where they are - on their phones, on social media - and at the point when they have a choice to make about wearing that mask.”

Known for offering its users 'Easter eggs' or hidden surprises found only through unique codes, Snapchat collaborated with Ogilvy Chicago to design an AR lens that is 'quintessential Chicago'. The City worked closely with Snap Inc. and Ogilvy to produce, refine and complete the new designs to ensure they were aligned with the City’s current public health awareness initiatives, specifically the ‘We Are All ONE Team: Team Up, Mask Up’ campaign.

“As a city, we’re continually looking for innovative ways to combat the virus and reach residents where they are,” said Han Nguyen, digital director for the City of Chicago. “So, when Ogilvy and Snap approached us with the opportunity to be the first to use this new AR lens, I knew we’d be giving our younger residents an experience they’d want to capture - and that’s how we’ll get masks on more faces.”

Joe Sciarrotta, deputy chief creative officer worldwide for Ogilvy, added: “We’ve been looking for ways to empower Chicago’s younger residents to share the precautions they are taking as they confront this pandemic. We saw this lens as a perfect opportunity to help young people prove through their social networks that they are making the right choices and truly believe ‘we are all one team.’” 

As the first to deploy this technology, the City of Chicago continues to be an innovator in raising awareness around the Covid-19 pandemic.