Google Year in Search Comes to Snapchat via AR Portal Lens

The lens gives Snapchatters a way to fully immerse themselves in the biggest stories of 2020, transporting them to national protests and introducing them to frontline workers, all to the tune of an original track from Chance the Rapper, the Chicago Children’s Choir, Peter CottonTale, Cynthia Erivo and The Matt Jones (Re Collective) Orchestra.

When Snapchatters open the lens in world view, they will be prompted to turn their camera forward, after which they will be surrounded by 360 degrees of hovering images in AR.

Moving the camera around and tapping on individual images will bring up statistics and insights from Google’s Year in Search report, as well as related images and video. Once an image has been viewed, it moves from greyed-out to full color so they user knows they have already viewed it.

The lens is available to select Snapchatters in the U.S. via Lens Carousel or via the Snapcode below.

Google will also run Year in Search video as ads on Snapchat, marking the first time Year in Search has been featured as vertical video on the platform.

Snapchat tech and entertainment senior creative strategist Jacqueline Tsekouras said in a statement, “AR is one of the most fascinating and creatively empowering formats out there, which is why we were so adamant about launching Google’s 2020 Year in Search story in the Snapchat camera. Not only does this campaign further expand the use-case for AR, but it provides Snapchatters with a much-needed experience to reflect on and spend time with the moments that have shaped this profound year.”

Google Media Lab global creative and innovation lead Brad Spychalski added, “Google’s annual Year in Search film puts Google Trends data at the heart of the story—and in 2020, people asked ‘why’ more than any other time in history. We believe this curiosity lends itself well to an immersive AR experience, so we partnered with Snap to bring the campaign to life and allow everyone to interact with the moments that defined the year in a brand-new way.”