The creative idea was inspired by the realization that turning off the faucet is as simple as turning a cell phone upside down.

“Snapside Down,” Snapchat’s first upside down ad, launched on World Water Day. To read the ad, users had to turn their phones upside down to mimic the movement of turning off a faucet. Turning the phone drove home the message that “turning is all it takes to close the faucet.”

Our message went live on snapchat for 3 days surrounding World Water Day, running from March 21 until March 23 and again for 3 days around Earth Day running from April 22 until April 24.

The ad was integrated into Snapchat User Stories as well as on Instagram Stories.

World Water Day placements generated 12.1 million impressions and reached approximately 11.5 million people in 72 hours.

Earth Day placements generated 3.7 million impressions and reached approximately 3.5 million people in 72 hours.

Overall, “Snapside Down” reached +14 million consumers on Snapchat and Instagram over the course of six days. On Snapchat alone we reached a unique audience of 9.7 million millennials – no easy feat with this elusive target.

The campaign generated +25 million impressions across all social channels and press.

Per Colgate’s Scott Campbell, “We were experimenting with the engaging nature of the platforms.”

In a new social territory where brands aren’t always welcome, we were one of the first brands out of the gate and saw a view through rate of 41% - setting a new benchmark for Instagram and Snapchat.  

Millennials more than anyone feel personally responsible for making a difference in the world. But they have surpassed simply wanting to help support causes and have started demanding that others, especially companies, do their part. They are reshaping and influencing social change faster than ever before.

To truly impact water conservation, we would need to activate these change-agent Millennials and empower them to make a difference, fast.

To reach our socially savvy Millennial, we strategically aligned with mobile media partners Snapchat and Instagram, whose unique vertical ad format and reach against our target (75% and 58% respectively in the US) created the perfect platform to amplify our message.

Saving water was literally in their hands.

For years Colgate as a company has been committed to sustainability by engaging in efforts to be a corporate leader in water conservation. Despite Colgate’s internal efforts in surpassing corporate sustainability goals, Colgate realized that millions of gallons of water were being wasted by consumers while using Colgate products.

There in lied the opportunity - as the #1 most used brand in the world, Colgate made it their mission to educate consumers to “turn off the faucet” while brushing their teeth. This simple act can help save up to 4 gallons of water with every brushing. That’s a lot when everyone does their part.