During Thursday night’s airing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show on Fox, viewers for the first time ever will able to unlock Snapchat filters by catching the three on-screen Snapcodes that will air in bumpers between the show and advertisements, reports Adweek.
Even though Rocky Horror first aired in 1975, today’s millennials still flock to midnight screeners of the cult hit, and we all know what that means: social media. Part of Rocky Horror’s continual appeal is its fan participation and Fox is aiming to convert that into social-media engagement on Thursday night.
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Fox’s new version of Rocky Horror stars Orange is the New Black’s Laverne Cox as Dr. Frank-N-Furter, in the role that Tim Curry made famous in the original. Other millennial favorites — including Disney Channel’s Ryan McCartan and Nickelodeon’s Victoria Justice as naive couple Brad and Janet — also star.
Fox already has started its campaign with Snapchat, the video-messaging platform that sees “snaps” disappear after the recipient has watched them. On Oct. 11, National Coming Out Day, Fox ran ads on the platform to promote the live production. On Tuesday, Oct. 18, it launched a sponsored lens that allowed users to dress themselves up as Frank-N-Furter, including flamboyant makeup and juicy lips.
Both Cox and Justice were active on the platform leading up to the premiere.
Snapchat just started rolling out Snapcodes last month, as a new way for brands to unveil filters. Thursday night’s airing of Rocky Horror was the first time the new feature has been tried in a TV show.
As networks seek new ways to reach millennials, they are increasingly interested in partnering with Snapchat and its 150 million users. According to Nielsen, on average Snapchat reaches 41 percent of all 18-to-34 year olds in the U.S. each day.
READ MORE: Adweek
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