New Augmented Reality Ads Let Customers Virtually Try Products

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- How would you like to try on new shades of lipstick or sunglasses -- without setting foot in a store?

There's a new kind of advertising coming to social media, and it works a little bit like Snapchat filters.

As CBS News' Meg Oliver reports, Facebook is trying to make the advertisements on your newsfeed more social. The social networking site is introducing ads that allow users to try on everything from a pair of shades to a shade of makeup right on their smartphones.

"The technology that allows these Facebook ads to work is called augmented reality," said Scott Stein, senior editor of CNET.

For example, users could click on a Michael Kors ad and use the phone's camera to superimpose sunglasses on their face and see what different colors would look like. The same can be done with virtual lipstick on a Sephora ad, and all of it can be shared on your Facebook page.

Stein said that makes it even more attractive to advertisers.

"You also could be taking photos and sharing that, which means you're transmitting the ad yourself," said Stein.

Augmented reality has been used in video games and products that blend the real and digital worlds. Now retailers are capitalizing on the technology.

From visualizing the inside of an RV, to a Lowe's app that lets you see what a grill would look like in your backyard.

"You're going to see a lot more of it because the biggest players in the game, not just Facebook but also Google and Apple, are investing a lot of money and a lot of time to put augmented reality across the entire phone eco-system," said Stein.

Michael Kors was the first to test these ads. Facebook says Sephora and other companies, selling everything from fashion to furniture, will roll out their own interactive ads in the coming months.