Toyota web AR ad campaign places a 3D sedan in US Hispanic car buyers' own space

Toyota Motor North America ran a web-based augmented reality ad unit for the launch of the 2020 Corolla sedan, created by ad agency Conill on 8th Wall's browser-based AR platform. The Spanish-language unit was served as a mobile banner ad: tapping it opened the phone's camera inside the mobile browser and used SLAM tracking to place a full real-time 3D Corolla in the viewer's own surroundings, with no app download required.

Three hotspots on the model called out the car's moonroof, its standard LED headlights with daytime running lights, and the available 18-inch alloy wheels. Tapping the vehicle triggered matching animations - the moonroof opening, the headlights switching on and off, and the wheels turning - and users could look around the interior in 360 degrees and capture a photo of the scene to share.

The campaign launched in June 2019 and was served to Android users in the United States first, with Conill saying an iOS release would follow later that year. 8th Wall said the format let Toyota qualify shoppers before they reached a dealership. No engagement, reach or sales figures were published.

Quotes

“We sought to help our young Latino audience experience the Corolla sedan where they spend most of their time: on their mobile phones. This type of execution, without the need to download apps, goes beyond traditional media channels and reinforces Toyota's position as leader in innovation and technology.”

“The new generation of Hispanic car buyers are an incredibly important audience for Toyota, so we're excited to deliver an engaging digital experience that produces a unique opportunity for consumers to visualize and engage with the greater-than-ever Corolla at the touch of their fingertips.”

“The web-based AR experience that Conill created for the Toyota Corolla sedan using 8th Wall technology is an example of an interactive, immersive advertisement that can be experienced within the mobile browser, allowing the customer to virtually bring the product into their own environment. This not only provides important context and visualization for technical features to the user, but it helps to qualify customers before they arrive at the dealership.”