Google’s 3D Swirl ad format now available in DV360

Swirl, the mobile interactive display ad format that Google started testing last year is now available globally to Display & Video 360 customers globally.

Users can rotate, zoom and expand 3D elements in Swirl ads. Brands that have been testing the ads include Purina, Nissan, Adidas and Belvedere Vodka, Google said in the announcement.

How they work. If you have existing 3D assets, upload them to Google Web Designer and select one of the Swirl templates or build creative from scratch. You can also use Poly, Google’s 3D design platform to configure your 3D models for Swirl ads.

Swirl ads are available in three sizes and fullscreen expansion is optional. The ads run across Google Ad Manager inventory.

Advertisers get engagement time and type (rotation and expansion) metrics in DV360.

Why we care. The concept isn’t new, interactive ads have been around for years from a number of ad tech vendors. This just means advertisers using DV360 can create and launch 3D ads natively within the Google ecosystem. That’s likely to hurt some of the early innovators in this space. Advanced Swirl template features include hotspots that reveal more details, a color picker and other options. For more, see the help page.

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About The Author

Ginny Marvin

Ginny Marvin was Third Door Media’s former Editor-in-Chief (October 2018 to December 2020), running the day-to-day editorial operations across all publications and overseeing paid media coverage. Ginny Marvin wrote about paid digital advertising and analytics news and trends for Search Engine Land, Marketing Land and MarTech Today. With more than 15 years of marketing experience, Ginny has held both in-house and agency management positions. She can be found on Twitter as @ginnymarvin.