Dive Brief:

• Honda included spatial audio in a new 360-degree video Facebook ad for its CR-V model, as reported by Adweek. The spot features three separate "sets" with different audio backgrounds that users can pan to, including the sounds of a campfire, of children playing outside with a water hose and of someone using a welding torch in their yard.
• The audio VR mixing feature is a relatively new capability from Facebook, according to Adweek. The publication suggested that the technology is something more creative producers will likely tap to make their ads more immersive and convincing while taking advantage of multiple perspectives or sets.
• The Honda ad was created by the agency RPA. Viewers' Facebook data determines which of the three scenes first pops up when the ad launches.

Dive Insight:

Facebook has been promoting its 360-degree video capabilities, and brands and publishers alike have been taking advantage of the VR-light experiences to provide audiences with more interactive content. Honda's spot is relatively novel in making audio as much a part of the experience as the actual 360-degree functionality. Determining the initial "set" viewers open up on is also an interesting use of targeting via Facebook data. 

By tying Facebook's spatial audio technology to on-screen content, ads can theoretically add an extra layer of immersion, making for a multi-sensory experience. VR or VR-like advertisements are shown to drive high levels of emotional engagement and response in viewers, but the creative needs to be well-suited to the medium rather than copy and pasted from elsewhere. 

Honda's ad is an interesting hybrid, tying largely static imagery to an otherwise immersive, dynamic format. As Adweek notes, the whole thing is slightly clunky, especially in the transition between "sets." It has, however, clearly attracted some attention, with over 140,000 views at the time of this article's publication.