The Gatorade dunk—or "shower" or "bath," depending on the TV announcer—is a Super Bowl tradition. And the sports drink is playing that up for its Big Game ad campaign on Snapchat, showing an animated GIF of tennis star Serena Williams getting virtually doused.
Gatorade is utilizing its ongoing sponsorship of Williams, who dons football-style eye black in the ad. The PepsiCo-owned brand has partnered with Snapchat and purchased a sponsored lens on the mobile-social platform for an undisclosed amount. (Adweek has reported that the 4-month-old branded lens costs $350,000 on non-Super Bowl days.)
The marketer's lens employs animation powered by object-recognition technology to trigger the Gatorade cooler and subsequent dunk. In other words, it's an optical illusion that Williams is getting drenched.
Snapchat users will be able to save the animation and share it. Consumers can personalize the Gatorade lens by pressing down on the app and holding their face—or a friend's—in front of the camera in Snapchat. Filtering options will then appear at the bottom of the screen. The lens will be available through Monday.
Snapchat has become integral to major marketers' attempts to reach millennial consumers, and it's going to be interesting to see how brands do with it during the Super Bowl.