X-Men in your Snapchat lense

Apocalypse has struck Snapchat, literally. The lens feature of the service that allows its users to click pictures and add fun caricatures such as crowns, dog ears, alien eyes and more, was overtaken by a host of X-Men characters like Magneto and Storm on Monday, to promote the X-Men: Apocalypse movie.

Snapchat tied-up with 20th Century Fox to start the first complete takeover of all of Snapchat’s lenses for 24 hours. Snapchat did not reveal the value of the tie-up, but according to some reports, sponsoring a lens can cost $450,000 to $750,000, depending on the day.

The tie-up gave the marketers of the Marvel movie a potential audience of more than 100 million daily users. Users could also book movie tickets using an “X-Men” video ad placed on Snapchat.
This is not the first time that Snapchat’s Lens feature has garnered attention. Ever since its release last year, marketers have been vying to borrow the space for more interactive experiences with potential audiences.

In February, users doused themselves with a bucket of Gatorade 165 million times in two days. In May, Taco Bell sponsored a lens that allowed users to turn their selfies into taco-shaped portraits. According to Snapchat, Taco Bell’s lens recorded 224 million views in 24 hours.