Six of YouTube’s 10 most-viewed 360-degree videos over the last year promoted movies, events or other business ventures; the most popular, with more than 35 million views, advertised a “virtual reality raid” for mobile game Clash of Clans. (The other top videos featured mid-air stunts and women in skimpy clothes.)
Advertising could likely, as in TV and on the Web, form the financial backbone of VR’s universe, and the technology’s dazzling visuals, boundless worlds and captive goggles-wearing clientele have turned what once seemed like a passing fad into an advertisers’ dream.
But that rush into VR ads and 360-degree videos — their less-involved technological cousins — means advertisers will likely define the platform before it hits mainstream audiences, much in the same way pop-up ads shaped the early Web, analysts said. And because the tech is still in its infancy, advertisers see few limits to their ambitions: What, for instance, will product placement look like when entire worlds are up for grabs?
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