3D ads come to Facebook, Instagram in step toward metaverse

Meta Platforms Inc will make it easier for brands to run three-dimensional ads on Facebook and Instagram through a new partnership with an e-commerce technology firm.

The integration with VNTANA will allow brands to upload the 3D models of their products to the social media platforms and easily convert them into ads, VNTANA said Thursday in a press release.

The move is a stepping stone into advertising in the metaverse, said VNTANA Chief Executive Ashley Crowder, referring to the futuristic idea of a collection of virtual worlds that can be accessed through different devices such as headsets.

Meta has staked its future on contributing to the building of the metaverse, which it has said could take up to a decade to be realized.

In the meantime, brands in the beauty, fashion and furniture industries are working to transition from 2D to 3D representations of their products.

"The metaverse is basically the spatial internet," Crowder said. "It is a whole world of possibility that starts with having the right 3D models of your products."

Facebook and Instagram users who see a 3D ad while browsing on their desktop or phone can interact with an image of a handbag, for instance, and move the item around to view it from all angles.

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"In a way, this offers a glimpse of what you might expect on future devices like AR glasses," said Chris Barbour, director of augmented reality partnerships at Meta's Reality Labs unit.

Before VNTANA's integration with Meta, advertisers would need to reformat 3D files to be compatible with Meta's ad systems. Now, brands can use VNTANA to easily upload and convert the files into ads without technical expertise in working with 3D images, Crowder said.