Snapchat drops Snapbot in Houston, lands best free Super Bowl advertising
The biggest brands spend millions each year on 30-second ads for the Super Bowl.
But one of the year's big names didn't have to craft a commercial to get attention on one of TV's biggest nights.
Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, dropped a Snapbot -- its interactive vending machine that dispenses the limited-edition Spectacles -- in Houston, Texas on Sunday. It appeared near Pet Kingdom Park, surrounded by puppies, in honor of the annual Puppy Bowl.
Now, those attending the Super Bowl or simply those nearby in Houston can pick up Spectacles, the video-camera sunglasses that sell for $130 each.
The location came with little surprise to those following Snap's previous drops. The company made similar moves at sports events like the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles and the Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado.
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This is the 37th time Snapchat has activated a Snapbot since it began on Nov. 10 in Venice, California, near the company's headquarters.
Since then, the Snapbot has been available in other areas of California, Oklahoma, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Texas, Louisiana, Illinois, Oregon, Hawaii, Nevada, Alabama, Utah, Kentucky and Ohio.
See the full list here, compiled with the help of website change detection service visualping:
It's been quite a busy week for Snap. On Thursday, the company publicly filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for its upcoming initial public offering.
Within the filing, Snap disclosed that little meaningful revenue have come from Spectacles. Indeed, it's only released a few thousand during the limited rollout.
The New York location, where once people waited for up to 18 hours for a pair, is now often empty. Snap extended the opening of the location from Jan. 1 to Feb. 19.
Topics Snapchat Super Bowl Advertising
Kerry Flynn is a business reporter for Mashable covering the tech industry. She previously reported on social media companies, mobile apps and startups for International Business Times. She has also written for The Huffington Post, Forbes and Money magazine. Kerry studied environmental science and economics at Harvard College, where she led The Harvard Crimson's metro news and design teams and played mellophone in the Band. When not listening to startup pitches, she runs half-marathons, plays with puppies and pretends to like craft beer.
