Meta wants people to know that group chats work much better on WhatsApp than on rival messaging platforms. So much so that it may even make or break your next surprise party.
“It’s Time for WhatsApp,” created by agency BBDO, aims to convince Americans that they’ll never miss critical group chat messages on the app. The campaign kicks off today (Sept. 3) with the help of actors Adam Scott and Adam Brody.
Scott and Brody are hot right now. Next month, Brody will kick off the second season of his popular Netflix rom-com, Nobody Wants This, for which he earned an Emmy nomination. Scott also snagged an Emmy nomination for his role on Apple TV+’s Severance, which has been renewed for a third season.
In a funny spot titled “Surprise Party,” viewers see a split screen of what can happen when group chats go right—and when they fail spectacularly.
On one side, Brody’s surprise party goes off without a hitch, because everyone on the WhatsApp thread received the event invite and location change notification.
Not so much for Scott’s surprise party, which is a disaster: No one shows up, because the message about its location change got lost in the avalanche of RSVPs.
“It’s really great that we get to tell our story relying on voices that are loved and who bring relatability and levity to a subject that people go through every day,” said Vivian Odior, WhatsApp’s global head of marketing.
The campaign will run in the U.S., which is seeing “strong growth” for the app, according to Odior. WhatsApp has more than 3 billion global users, including over 100 million in the U.S., but Odior said there’s a lack of awareness of the pain points that can be solved by the app.
“We know that WhatsApp awareness has been growing,” she said. “We also know that quite specifically, a problem that we solve is making [iOS and Android] cross-device communication feel seamless, secure, private, and reliable.”
Odior said as more people try to work together and socialize both in person and digitally, it creates an opportunity for a tool like WhatsApp.
“The role of a group chat in organizing real-world networks is also growing and is much more important,” she added.
The campaign will roll out across TV, digital, social, and out-of-home through November, with more content being released in the coming days, including an amusing interview with Brody and Scott that will appear on TikTok.