Fashion company American Eagle Outfitters is probably the first Hong Kong brand to use new Snapchat technology in a campaign, thanks to advertising company TBWA Hong Kong.
Launched by the social-media company, Snapchat Spectacles are sunglasses fitted with tiny cameras that can record 10 seconds of video.
They are so new, says the agency, it had to buy them on eBay, where they are selling for up to US$1100 a unit.
So far the spectacles have been sold exclusively at US$130 each from pop-up vending machines across the US.
“The spectacles are a bold, forward-looking product likely to resonate with early adopters,” says TBWA Hong Kong GM Jan Cho.
American Eagle’s #WeAllCan campaign is designed to “explore the power and influence of millennials” using Hong Kong actors, singers, filmmakers and YouTube stars.
“Our methodology is to look for real-life cultural triggers, and the launch of Snapchat Spectacles is a good fit and a natural opportunity for the #WeAllCan campaign,” says Cho.
Produced by Hong Kong musicians, skateboarders and parkour runners, the campaign material runs alongside videos featuring millennial singers Sukie Chung and Wong You Nam as well as YouTubers and filmmakers Felix Yu and Yanki Din from Bomba Channel.
American Eagle Outfitters senior regional marketing manager Samson Li says the campaign is not simply another example of a brand using influencers to market a product, but a way of defining “the unique values of Hong Kong millennials”.
“Simply finding local influencers to endorse the brand was not our intention,” he says. “That’s too top-down for this generation. It was more about finding young people with their own voice who are able to speak from their unique position.”
The campaign includes digital, social media, in-store events and media.