Facebook parent company Meta is going hard on its Metaverse plans. Not only is the company spending — and losing — billions on the project, but it’s also trying to force the technology into every corner of its social media empire. In the company's latest example, 3D Metaverse Ads are starting to populate a number of its services.
Meta introduces 3D Metaverse Ads
Partnering with augmented reality company Vntana, Meta is creating ads that showcase the potential of Metaverse technology. The new advertisements allow ad companies to create 3D augmented reality experiences to entice would-be customers.
Users will be able to tap on an advertisement and explore all of a particular object. This will allow users to see objects in their space, clothes on their bodies, et cetera. However, all of these 3D models will be digital recreations, not 3D scans of real objects.
“Just like regular ads, 3D ads appear in users’ Facebook and Instagram feeds displaying interactive 3D models that users can tap and interact with,” a press release reads. “3D and AR opens a new door of advertising possibilities for retail and e-commerce brands, improving the customer experience from the point of acquisition.”
Currently, Vntana is the only company with access to Meta’s augmented reality ads API. As Vntana already has experience in compressing 3D experiences down for social media, they're the only ones allowed to use the technology at the for of writing.
Read More: Elon Musk wants people to download their consciousness into Tesla Bots
The First Step
Meta and Vntana claim that the introduction of 3D advertisements is the first step towards Meta’s metaverse goals. With the company hoping to put augmented reality adverts in the real world with AR headsets, this is a testing period for the tech’s early days.
“3D and AR technology in online ads is the next frontier for brands looking to connect with the digital consumer and is a great first step into the metaverse,” said VNTANA co-founder and CEO Ashley Crowder. “This technology delivers benefits to both the retailer and the consumer, as it gives the consumer a better understanding of the product.”
However, it's not yet known how many people will treat augmented reality adverts differently. Do people really want to move around an advert on Instagram? Or do they want to skip on to the next post?