We all watched as Pokemon Go went viral this summer and captured the attention of users with its fun and engaging augmented reality (AR) platform. The game used the user's real world as the gaming environment. The game helped make AR mainstream, and now advertisers are taking advantage this feature. Virtual reality and augmented reality are becoming a new trend in advertising, making them even more fun, personal, and interactive.

Example of AR:
Net-a-Porter.com turns window shopping into an immersive online shopping experience. 

There are many AR vendors, such as Blippar that have made the possibility of AR easier for brands to integrate in their digital strategy. The use of AR provides a memorable, rich interactive experience that makes the brand come alive. 

Example of AR:
Users can scan the IKEA catalogue with their smartphone and super-transposes the furniture into their house.

Virtual reality (VR) can achieve a similar result with an even more immersive experience.

Example of VR:
Game of Thrones exhibition transports users into the world of the TV series using the Oculus Rift headset.

While this is a great example of VR used in a physical exhibition location, I have yet to see good examples of translated in digital media, so if you know of any, please reply in the comments. 

What do you think of VR and AR in ads?

Next time you are thirsty, drink an ad:

Waze app announced that users can set their directions to be delivered by actor Morgan Freeman. The app's tie in to actors and characters, such as Darth Vader, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and now Morgan Freeman is a clever way to advertise for the upcoming films while keeping the users engaged and entertained. Morgan Freeman's voice is used to promote the movie London Has Fallen, with commands like:

•  “Accident reported ahead. I’ll get a line to emergency command.”
  
•  “The time has arrived, President Wazer. The world awaits your commands.”
  
• “The American people are counting on you… to drive. Let’s go.”
• “You’ve arrived. It’s been my honor and duty to see you through this mission.”

The voice commands are a way to incorporate gamification into the app, as each turn by turn direction is more like an effort to complete a mission rather than normal driving. This is a great example of a way for developers to monetize and include sponsorship opportunities directly into the functionality of the app. What do you think of this type of advertising?