Facebook is giving advertisers a new way to engage their audience with augmented reality ad units, right in their News Feed.
Facebook is preparing to take on Snapchat’s AR hegemony. During F8, the company announced it was working with businesses to maximize the impact of AR on its platform. It started in Messenger, and now AR ads from a select group of brands will start appearing right in your News Feed.
The new ad product was announced by Ty Ahmad-Taylor, VP of product marketing for Facebook’s global marketing solutions. Ty showed off examples of ads that incorporated his face into video footage, and others that allowed shoppers to virtually try out sunglasses or makeup on their faces.
Ty explained that “People traditionally have to go into stores to do this. They still really love that experience, but they would like to try it at home, so ‘this’ bridges the gap.”
Facebook’s new AR ads look like regular in-feed ads, but they include a “tap to try on” CTA which triggers the augmented reality capabilities. AR ads are also shoppable, which means users can choose to buy the product after trying it on themselves.
Michael Kors was the first brand to test the new AR ads in News Feed (see above). Makeup brands Sephora, NYX Professional Makeup, Bobbi Brown, as well as home decor Wayfair and Pottery Ban will be next, later this summer.
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