Why is Snapchat trolling Instagram with ‘real friends’ campaign?

Snapchat just announced that its user base is growing – for the first time in two years – and that’s given it some momentum to go after its big bad: Instagram.

Parent company Snap Inc. has unveiled a new campaign positioning itself as a platform for ‘real friends’. The adverts heavily insinuate that other picture and video sharing social media platforms (like, say, Instagram) are not for real friends.

Coincidence you say? Well, Snap decided to kick off the campaign exclusively on Instagram.

Snap does not have its own Instagram account, so it worked with many ‘quotefluencers’ (accounts that just post quotes) to promote several slogans based around friendship. Each quote is in the brand’s signature yellow and involves Snap’s ghost icon.

However, the posts were just a warmup for Snap’s shade-throwing media team. Next-up is billboards, TV commercials and print adverts that will run in dozens of countries over the next few months.

Snap has long said that while Instagram is a ‘popularity contest’, its platform Snapchat is for ‘close friends’.

"When we launched Snapchat more than seven years ago, it wasn’t about capturing the traditional Kodak moment, or trying to look pretty or perfect," Snap said in a blog post.

"We wanted to create a way for our friends to express themselves and share; however, they felt in the moment."

The campaign comes as Snap reported growth, with 13-million new users added thanks to a re-designed Android app and VR lenses.

Snapchat now has 203-million active users.