Political advocacy group Secure America Now is rolling out a new Snapchat ad today that targets Senator Ben Cardin and his stance on the Iran nuclear deal, the Washington Post reports.
The ad, which is being promoted in Cardin’s home state of Maryland, comes in the form of a filter that Snapchat users can superimpose over photos. It features a handful of illustrated microphones and urges voters to “Tell Senator Cardin: No to the bad Iran deal!”
While this isn’t the first time that Snapchat has run a political filter ad—Secure America Now ran another one in Ohio before the Republican primary debate earlier this month—it is the first time that the social media company has been used to campaign against an individual politician. Cardin is considered one of the key votes on the Iran deal and remains undecided; he has said that he’ll announce his decision after Labor Day.
“This is the first time ever in Snapchat history that anyone in politics has purchased a filter specifically calling out certain legislators,” Vincent Harris, who manages Secure America Now’s digital advertising and marketing, told the Washington Post.
More Snapchat filter ads could be unveiled in the coming weeks in other states, Harris added.
In other Snapchat news on Wednesday, financial documents made public by Gawker showed that the photo-sharing app recorded a loss of more than $128 million last year on $3 million in revenue. It’s important to note, though, that Snapchat only began selling ads in October, and its new Discover feature didn’t roll out until early this year.
The new ad targeting Cardin is part of a seven-figure digital campaign from Secure America Now to drum up opposition to the Iran deal. Harris didn’t offer specifics, but said the Snapchat ad was a “significant” part of its ad buy.