Movie marketers continue to tap Snapchat‘s new features — and its youthful audience — to hype upcoming releases.
In the latest Hollywood promo to alight on Snapchat, Warner Bros. will run a sponsored puzzle-game selfie Lens on Sunday, Jan. 22, for “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” movie, marking the first advertiser to buy the interactive feature.
The game works just like tile-based pocket puzzles, where you have to rearrange the scrambled tiles to complete the picture. Snapchat debuted the concept in a non-sponsored Lens in early December, and Warner Bros. is the first to buy it as an ad.
The “King Arthur” Lens dons a crown and robe on Snapchatters, who are challenged to solve the puzzle as quickly as possible — with their time recorded on the finished selfie video. According to Snap, after it launched the puzzle Lens last month, some users were able to finish the game in as little as 2 seconds.
“King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” premieres May 12, after WB reshuffled release dates for several 2017 movies last month. The movie, directed by Guy Ritchie, stars Charlie Hunnam as the storied British monarch of yore.
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Snapchat’s Lenses lets users apply real-time visual effects and sounds to selfies, which they can send to friends or add to 24-hour Stories. On average, Snapchat users interact with a sponsored lens for about 15 seconds, according to Snap.
Other films marketed on Snapchat include Sony Pictures’ 360-degree video ad for thriller “Don’t Breathe,” 20th Century Fox’s “X-Men: Apocalypse” and Warner Bros.’ “Batman v Superman.”
