Oreo is promoting its cookie collaboration with Post Malone through a Snapchat campaign launching Wednesday (Feb. 5) that takes advantage of a new in-chat ad format, Marketing Dive can exclusively share. The Mondelez International brand is the first in the snack category to take advantage of Sponsored Snap, an ad product that allows advertisers to deliver full-screen vertical videos directly into users’ chat inboxes, one of the most frequently viewed parts of the app known for its ephemeral messaging.
In the video ads, Post Malone is seen scouring an alien landscape where mountainous Oreos serve as an ore-like natural resource. The rapper-singer mines the rugged terrain for raw material and forges his haul into the ideal cookie, with custom Oreo x Post branding adding a final flourish. The artist’s 2016 hit single “Congratulations” serves as the soundtrack to the star-led creative, which was developed by Dentsu.
The Sponsored Snap ad includes a link to learn more about the product and make a purchase through Oreo’s website. Post Malone Oreo Cookies, which feature a swirled salted caramel and shortbread flavored creme sandwiched in between an Oreo chocolate and golden wafer, hit store shelves on Feb. 3 and are part of the CPG marketer’s focus on limited-time variants that cater to different fan groups and more adventurous tastes. The music-inspired cookies come in nine distinct designs, with embossed details such as a pickup truck, butterfly and flaming guitar referencing Post Malone’s catalog, along with guitar pick-laden packaging.
Snapchat could be a strong medium to reach Post Malone listeners, as 79% of surveyed app users cite music as a passion point, per internal data from parent Snap Inc. Tapping into messaging inboxes through Sponsored Snap provides a direct way for advertisers to reach Snapchat’s 453 million daily active users, though one that could also come off as invasive if not executed well. The ad format is visually distinct from regular Snaps and comes without a push notification. If left unviewed, Sponsored Snaps are deleted from the inbox.
“Messaging is at the heart of how our community connects with one another, and Sponsored Snaps are a powerful tool for brands to engage with our large and passionate audience,” said Jason Poinsette, Snap’s U.S. head of food and beverage, in a press statement. “This collaboration with Oreo and Post Malone is a perfect example of how we can bring creativity and cultural moments together to reach Snapchatters where they love to be — connecting with their friends through Chat.”
Rounding out the funnel
Sponsored Snaps are part of Snapchat’s efforts to offer advertisers more full-funnel advertising options, including those that can drive conversions. The format, which entered testing in October, has previously been used by entertainment marketers such as Disney and Universal Pictures to support ticket sales for movie releases like “Wicked.”
In venturing into the CPG category, Snapchat could position itself against channels like retail media that are securing high levels of investment in trying to wed brand messaging closer to the point of sale. In Q4 2024, Sponsored Snaps delivered more than 50 million impressions on average in to U.S. Snapchat users 18 and older. Taken together with Promoted Placements, another ad product announced around the same time, Sponsored Snaps created a 30% increase in reach, on average, for advertisers in the U.S.
“For snack brands like Oreo, the focus of Sponsored Snaps is to help advertisers achieve high and broad reach in the Chat inbox through an innovative format that also drives consideration and conversions with the CTA link in the Snap,” said Poinsette in emailed comments.
“In the long-term, we’re uniquely positioned to evolve the Chat inbox into a powerful tool to drive further engagement and utility for advertisers,” added Poinsette.
One of Snapchat’s advantages is its youth-skewing, pop culture-savvy audience. Teenagers and young adults are particularly fond of direct messaging with family and close friends, according to research at the National Opinion Research Center University of Chicago commissioned by the social media platform.
Snap’s ad revenue increased 14% year over year to $1.56 billion in Q4 2024, at the upper end of the company’s guidance, while active advertisers more than doubled over the end-of-year period that includes the holidays. Direct Response ad revenue saw a 14% year-over-year increase in Q4 and ended up being the most significant driver of ad revenue growth across the full year, according to an earnings statement from Snap.
Other recent Oreo collaborations include a buzzed-about one with Coca-Cola last year that saw the soft drink marketer drop a soda flavored like the cookie in kind. Oreo has played a key role in parent Mondelez’s bigger focus on direct-to-consumer sales channels, which the Snapchat campaign could further boost through its commerce component.
