Snapchat's first Oscars ad was inspired by Apple TV+ movie 'CODA'

Snap Oscars Spot Screencap
Snap Oscars Spot Screencap (Image credit: Snap)

What you need to know

  • Snapchat's first Oscars ad was inspired by a hit Apple TV+ movie.
  • CODA has helped raise awareness of the Deaf community.
  • The new ad will debut during the Academy Awards broadcast on March 27.

Snap, the company behind Snapchat, will run its first-ever Oscars ad later this week and a new report points out that it was inspired by the critically acclaimed Apple TV+ movie Coda.

The ad, which will focus on Snapchat's AR Lenses that help people learn American Sign Langauge, was inspired by the movie that became the "first motion picture starring a predominantly Deaf cast to receive a best picture nomination," according to a Variety report. Netflix's Audible also gets a mention.

The ad (watch below) was inspired by the Oscar nominations for Apple Original Films' "CODA" — the first motion picture starring a predominantly Deaf cast to receive a best picture nomination, and Troy Kotsur as the first Deaf male actor nominated in the supporting actor category — and the Oscar nod for Netflix's "Audible," which follows the journey of Maryland School for the Deaf high school athlete Amaree McKenstry-Hall, for documentary short subject.

Snap's ad focuses on how hand-tracking can be used to help people communicate, whether they're Deaf or not.

Snap's 30-second Oscars spot highlights how the hand-tracking tech can help build bridges between Deaf and hard-of-hearing and hearing communities. In addition, two 15-second spots will run on digital and social channels following the Oscars ceremony. (Disclosure: Snap also has taken out print ads for the campaign in Variety and the L.A. Times.)

Snapchat's new ad will run during ABC's Academy Awards broadcast on March 27.

CODA has become a huge movie for Apple TV+ and the Deaf community and has found itself on the receiving end of multiple awards and nominations to date.

If you want to enjoy CODA in style, be sure to check out our list of the best Apple TV deals on the market today.

Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.