Snapchat++

After pouring out $10 million for 60 seconds of Super Bowl advertising time, Doritos and Mountain Dew continued their Sunday marketing binge on Snapchat. For their spot during the game, Doritos and Mountain Dew staged a lip-synched rap battle between highly meme-able actors P ...more

Snapchat's Geofilters add a little flair to Snapchat, giving you the option to dress up your Snaps based on where you took them. They're so popular, in fact, that we even showed you how to pull Geofilters from locations outside of where you are. Now, Snapchat is letting busin ...more

Rabbit ears and dog noses are fun and all, but Kay Jewelers is here to class up Snapchat. Claiming a first among the jewelry market, Kay Jewelers has launched a Sponsored Lens that lets Snapchatters virtually try-on three necklaces. A pucker of the lips triggers a virtually-b ...more

Fast-casual burger restaurant Bareburger expects to soon replace all of its paper menus with 3D models of its burgers and other items rendered in augmented reality, but for now, the company is preparing some rather interesting limited AR interactions. The up-and-coming restau ...more

Despicable Me 3 is coming to theaters this summer, and it seems that Minions are everywhere. Literally. You can't even escape them on social media because they've taken over Snapchat with the release of three augmented reality lenses. That's right, this new AR feature means th ...more

New Balance is helping Liverpool Football Club (FC) fans see how they look in the team's new kits with an augmented reality experience in Snapchat. The Lens uses background segmentation to replace the user's surroundings with a virtual stadium and a full-body mask to place th ...more

Move over, Hype Williams, it looks like Snapchat is about to take some of your music video-making business, and pop rock group Maroon 5 is the proof. On Wednesday, the group released a music video for its latest single, "Wait," and it's shot entirely in Snapchat. (Travis Schn ...more

When it comes to filters, Snapchat is no slouch. The chat app's array of effects rivals even the fiercest competition from filter masters like Instagram. Now, the company has a new trick up its sleeve that adds depth to your selfies (and even more new filters), and that featur ...more

With the third season of Netflix's hit series Stranger Things set to debut July 4, it's time to crank up the hype machine, this time, in augmented reality. For its latest promotion, Netflix has summoned the AR powers of Snapchat to bring "the upside down," the alternate dimen ...more

It looks like Snapchat is becoming the MTV of augmented reality. On Thursday, Ariana Grande, with her new album Sweetner, joined Drake and Nicki Minaj and other artists who are pushing new releases through Snapchat's Shoppable AR e-commerce platform. Available in the Snapcha ...more

Spring is here across the US, but, through the lens of Snapchat and augmented reality, winter is coming to New York. After debuting a Game of Thrones AR experience at SXSW, HBO has now taken advantage of Snapchat's new Landmarker technology to promote the forthcoming final se ...more

Tech companies are embroiled in controversy this week. No, not the hearings on Russian interference in last year's election; in this case, it's all about the burger emoji. Now, Snapchat has joined the fray and further muddied the waters regarding proper burger construction wi ...more

Pixar's Incredibles 2 has entered the fray as the latest sequel in a summer of highly anticipated follow-up films and, like its peers, it also has an augmented reality experience to promote its presence in theaters. Available via Snapchat, the AR experience places the familia ...more

Snapchat just fast-tracked the majority of its app user base into the world of augmented reality production by making its Lens and Filter tools available to anyone with a web browser. On Thursday, Snap released a new web-based tool called Create Your Own that lets anyone crea ...more

Changing the look and feel of an app's user interface can really make it more pleasurable. Popular apps like Facebook or Twitter may take for granted the importance of a clean UI, since the companies have hundreds of millions of users no matter what their apps look like. Howe ...more

From Time Machine to Cartoon 3D Style, Snapchat has strung together a run of viral AR Lenses as consistently as Beyoncé drops hits songs. The latest example is Smile, an AR Lens that, according to a Snap spokesperson, uses a machine-learning algorithm to morph a person's like ...more

The new film Brightburn, a horror take on the superhero genre produced by Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn, debuted in theaters on Friday, and it has some promotional backing from Snapchat to drive ticket sales. Available via Snapcode, the augmented reality experie ...more

On Thursday, Snapchat opened up its walled garden of World Lenses to the masses of creators with the launch of Lens Studio. Available as a free application for PCs and Macs, Lens Studio is billed as powerful enough for experienced developers to import their own 3D animations, ...more

The hype for HBO's Game of Thrones reached proportions as epic as the series itself this week with the latest release of the final season's official trailer, but it's a Snapchat promotion that will truly make fans at SXSW bend the knee. Using what Snapchat calls AR Marker Tec ...more

If social media apps were houses in a neighborhood and augmented reality photo effects were candy, then Facebook went to Costco and brought home a full pallet of treats. The Facebook app for iOS and Android, and its Messenger companion (also for iOS and Android), offer up mor ...more

Now that Snapchat has extended its virtual try-on powers from the face and feet to the wrist, Samsung is leveraging the new capability, along with an interactive twist, to sell its smartwatches. Samsung Electronics UK partnered with Snapchat to run a virtual try-on for Samsun ...more

The Tesla-riding Starman that was launched into space via Elon Musk's SpaceX last week will miss its Mars target and is instead headed toward a lonely asteroid belt in the void of space. But if you missed the initial launch and would like to get a taste of what Starman is seei ...more

There have been enough music artists releasing Snapchat AR experiences over the past week to fill a small festival. Count them with me: Bruno Mars. Gucci Mane. Kodak Black. Missy Elliot. Imagine Dragons. Panic! At the Disco. The barrage of AR camera effects come courtesy of L ...more

You get a snap from a friend, per usual, but what's this? The lens they're using is actually really cool. Of course, you want to try it out for yourself, but don't bother searching Snapchat's enormous library of lenses to find the AR effect. Instead, there's a simple way to in ...more

Snapchat is joining the ranks of Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, YouTube, and Apple in the trend toward streaming original programming, but with a twist that rings true to its roots. Three of the company's new shows debuted Wednesday in the Stories section of the Snapchat app for iOS ...more

Alongside the usual collection of holiday-themed Lenses, Snapchatters received an extra-special treat from Snapchat over the weekend—a world-spanning Easter egg hunt. Like a highly-simplified version of Pokémon GO, The Great Snapchat Egg Hunt challenged Snapchat users to retr ...more

Nike and Snapchat, having already reigned triumphant with its viral augmented reality ad featuring Lebron James, are teaming up with another basketball legend at NBA All-Star Weekend This year's site for the league's annual star-studded event, which takes place on Saturday an ...more

After hosting an augmented reality experience using its Snapchat Landmarker technology at the Statue of Liberty, Snap is now giving creators the opportunity to create their own Lenses with Lady Liberty. An update to Lens Studio arriving Tuesday adds the Statue of Liberty and ...more

With the opening round of Wimbledon, one of professional tennis's four major tournaments, beginning on Monday, Snapchat is serving up an augmented reality tennis mini-game. The game challenges worldwide users and their 3D Bitmoji avatars to take on the digital doppelganger of ...more

Snapchat recently introduced geofilters to its ephermal messaging platform—cute stickers that you can add on your Snapchat, which showcase your location. Video: . Geofilters are only available in Los Angeles and New York as of now, however, it is a super cool idea. All you hav ...more

Burning Man 2018 is underway, but Intel and the Smithsonian American Art Museum are giving those not in attendance the ability to view the art from the event through Snapchat. Snapchat users can step through a Portal Lens and preview the VR experience created by Intel and VR ...more

In an effort to raise awareness regarding the impact of emissions on the environment, Snap has partnered with the United Nations Environment Programme to use augmented reality to show how much ocean levels will rise over the next 80 years. For the entirety of Earth Day, Snapc ...more

For the entirety of its existence, Snapchat has lived on mobile, but in its quest to lead the augmented reality industry, the company is now bringing those mobile AR experiences to desktops. On Friday, Snap introduced Snap Camera, an app for PC and Mac that gives users access ...more

Snap is turning to some light bribery to boost adoption of its new Lens Studio software. The January Jumpstart Challenge encourages artists to create and share a Lens that celebrates the New Year. One selected winner will take home a Lens Studio Swag Bag that includes an iPad ...more

It used to be that the best kind of swag was T-shirts and hats from your favorite music artists, but now the symbol of casual insider cool falls to the tech companies, and Snapchat has just joined the ranks of branded apparel purveyors. On Thursday, Feb. 1, Snap Inc. launched ...more

Snapchat is mostly credited as the first AR social network, and, like most social media companies, its revenue model is nested largely within advertising. As such, the company now has a new avenue for branded content. Of course, they are not the only mobile advertising game i ...more

The Los Angeles Rams are the latest NFL franchise to introduce new or modified uniforms for the 2020 season, joining the Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and their neighbors, the Los Angeles Chargers. However, ...more

The first annual Snap Partner Summit kicked off on Thursday in Los Angeles, and with it came some new products announcements, several of which enhance Snapchat's already robust augmented reality powers. Among the new releases, the big standout is an interface change that the ...more

One of the most prestigious annual events for the advertising industry, the Cannes Lions is the ideal backdrop for Snapchat to show the brands and agencies in attendance what it's got. On Monday, Snap did just that by opening an augmented reality exhibit at the La Malmaison a ...more

Snapchat began rolling out a massive update on March 29th, dubbed Chat 2.0, that gives users a plethora of new features, basically transforming Snapchat into an all-purpose messaging app. New features such as one-tap video chatting, audio-only chatting, and the ability to mak ...more

Snapchat has had more than its fair share of security failures and mishaps. The photo-sharing company is looking to better address some of these security gaps by adding new features, and today its most recent addition is live: the Captcha. New users will be asked to verify the ...more

The sky is the limit when it comes to augmented reality, but Snapchat's latest innovation is keeping its AR platform grounded. On Thursday, the company published a pair of new Lenses that highlight its new ground transformation technology. Don't Miss: This Viral Instagram Au ...more

Snapchat is making it easier for developers and creators to build augmented reality effects in Lens Studio with a slew of new features, including seven face templates. The new templates, available starting Tuesday, include Face Paint, Photo, Distort, Trigger, 2D Objects, 3D O ...more

Because it takes two to tango, your dancing Bitmoji World Lens on Snapchat is getting a dance partner. Snapchat's new 3D Friendmojis are World Lenses that mix your own Bitmoji with your friend's doppelganger for dual AR hijinks. Activating a 3D Friendmoji is accomplished by ...more

Now that the iPhone XS is officially available for pre-order, Verizon and Apple are giving Snapchat users the opportunity to win the device through an augmented reality scavenger hunt rather than forking over $1,000 for one. Starting on Friday and ending Sept. 17, Snapchat us ...more

Snapchat is enjoying a high field goal percentage when it comes to securing movie studio business with its sponsored augmented reality experiences, the latest coming through the basketball movie Uncle Drew. Lionsgate and promotional partner Pepsi are running not one but two A ...more

In the three years since Snapchat launched Lens Studio, developers and artists have created more than 1.5 million AR camera effects with the desktop tool. Beginning this week, AR Snap Shots will feature five augmented reality filters that showcase the innovative, trendy, or j ...more

On Friday, the release date for her new album, Queen, Nicki Minaj is already grabbing headlines for the track "Barbie Dreams," where she disses Drake and a host of other rappers. It's a bit ironic that she's got beef with Champagne Papi, because both performers have now dropp ...more

Snapchat has already found a compelling way to create advertisements in augmented reality with their branded filters, but they continue to experiment with new ways to monetize the bridging of the real and digital worlds. Their latest idea, which requires users to "snap" an ima ...more

The augmented reality business was all about audiences this week. Vuzix looked for an audience with the Supreme Court of New York regarding a defamation lawsuit against an investor. Magic Leap held an audience with royalty, showing off the Magic Leap One in a rare public appe ...more

The movie theater business is hurting due to the pandemic, but that hurdle is actually the perfect set of circumstances for movie studios to lean hard into augmented reality marketing. That's what's on the menu this week as Dreamworks teamed with Snapchat to launch a special ...more

Uber has recently been updating their app on a weekly basis to ensure that users have the smoothest travel experience possible. The entire UI was recently redesigned to increase user-friendliness, the total app size was reduced to improve performance, and an intelligent shortc ...more

Mobile augmented reality company Snapchat now has a special option for romantic message exchanging this Valentine's Day, a day which, incidentally, happens to be the first one in 116 years where Sweethearts, the original heart-shaped candy, will be unavailable for purchase. T ...more

Augmented reality experiences created in Lens Studio now have a permanent home in the Snapchat app. On Tuesday, Lens Explorer will begin giving users access to a scrollable screen full of a variety of new Lens Studio creations. The new Lens Explorer feature is denoted by a sm ...more

Homemade Halloween costumes that exhibit the maker's creativity are always better than off-the-shelf versions. It turns out that the same is true with virtual costumers. In the spirit of the season, Snapchat is featuring six augmented reality costumes, created by its Lens Stu ...more

Snapchat has released three new augmented reality Lenses that boast uber-accurate face tracking courtesy of the TrueDepth camera on the iPhone X and ARKit. Starting on Friday, professional wrestler-style face paint, a Day of the Dead-inspired mask with gold roses, and a golde ...more

Snap Inc. is no stranger to augmented reality. In fact, AR has been the Snapchat app's most popular feature, as face filters continue to update and change the way we communicate with each other. But in a new move, Snap Inc. is showing its commitment to improving AR and its rea ...more

Most augmented/mixed reality hardware still exists in the development stage, whether that's one of the more robust headsets or a high-powered smartphone. Most everything else isn't widely used or monetized. Snapchat, however, snuck in under the radar and created the foundation ...more

Big-box retailer Target has been on a bit of an augmented reality advertising shopping spree via Snapchat lately. The latest example, revealed on Tuesday, comes via a pair of Halloween-themed experiences, available in the camera carousel in Snapchat. Don't Miss: Snapchat Is ...more

Baby, it's cold outside, but, with some help from Snapchat augmented reality, Gucci is thawing our wintery hearths with a virtual trip to the tropics. On Wednesday, Snapchat launched a Portal Lens for Gucci designed to mirror the brand's Gift Giving advertising campaign featu ...more