Yeah, I’m tipping this isn’t going to go great.

After announcing Sponsored Snaps back in September, which will be the first Snapchat ad type that gets directly inserted into user inboxes, Snap has now announced its initial Sponsored Snap campaign, with a DM video message going out to all U.S. Snap users aged 18+ to promote the new movie “Wicked”.
The Wicked Sponsored Snap will be an actor, Jonathan Bailey, telling users that they should go watch the movie when it opens later this week. A CTA to buy tickets for the film will also be part of the Snap.

And that message will be coming into Snapchatter inboxes very soon, which will likely be disruptive for many users.

Because while Snap says that most Snap users like movies, they won't all be fans of musicals. And the Snap inbox is one of the most intimate connection surfaces in all of social media, with many teens using this to conduct their most personal chats.

As such, I don't think that ads in this stream suddenly coming up is a great addition. And while all of us are pretty attuned to ads in almost every digital element now, this particular one feels like something that could actually be treated as crossing the line for some Snapchatters.

That means they're going to stop using the app, right? I don't think so, if Sponsored Snaps are fairly spotty. Though I think if this becomes a more popular ad option, and a pile more brands come into the fold, that this will be a nuisance for Snap users, who, once again, consider their inbox something of a more intimate, private connection space.

Ads in messages are rarely welcome, in any app, and I don't see Snap users being excited to get them in their DMs.

But for Snap, it is going to be a prospective offering because many brands are already looking to connect with its 443 million daily active users. DMs are more responsive, and harder to ignore, and that could see a lot of marketers watching the early examples here, to see what the value of Sponsored Snaps may be.

But I don't think users will be as receptive.

We’ll find out, with the first Sponsored Snap campaign launching this week.