The news: In 2025, the landscape of ad opportunities grew beyond billboards and social ads and into new frontiers like smart home devices, AI voice assistants, smart glasses, and generative engines.

Cooking up campaigns: Alongside devices like Amazon Echo speakers, a new at-home entry point is opening up for advertisers—refrigerators.

In September, Samsung updated its Family Hub refrigerators to display ads on the Cover Screen as part of a pilot program.

This move shows how the internet of things (IoT) is moving deeper into the home, though brands need to balance context and consent—personal marketing touchpoints in spaces like home kitchens could cross from convenience into intrusion.

Screen-saver shopping: DirecTV and Glance partnered to turn idle TV moments into interactive experiences.

Instead of the usual panoramic mountain views and cityscapes, screen savers will show AI-generated shoppable content where users can browse outfits or discover new shows.

The goal is to turn TV viewing from a passive “lean-back” activity into an engaging “lean-in” experience, Glance’s group vice president of commercial partnerships told The Verge.

Engagement opportunities: Gaming platforms—which see high engagement and strong penetration across age groups—are ushering in new advertising opportunities, such as Xbox’s upcoming free ad-supported tier for Xbox gaming subscriptions. This marks how game environments are blending play, entertainment, and product discovery in new ways.

Generative engines, meanwhile, are laying the groundwork for a next wave of intent-based advertising. These platforms can meet consumers in moments of curiosity, when they’re open to exploration and recommendations. While monetization models are still taking shape—Perplexity is taking a step back from its ad plans after early challenges—there’s big long-term potential for personalized, conversational experiences.

On-the-go ads: The rise of smart glasses and voice assistants could offer new opportunities for product placements in 2026, especially in moments where consumers are looking for information or open to recommendations.

• Weaving ads into navigation, translation, and hand-free shopping experiences can feel less like interruptions and more like helpful suggestions.
• This approach could introduce new performance metrics centered on utility and trust, not just clicks or impressions.

What marketers should do: Considering that consumers see thousands of ads each day, marketers need to strategically place content across devices and platforms to stand out in the crowd.

• Watch for ad channels opening on smart home devices, gaming platforms, and generative platforms to target consumers in an era of new frontiers in advertising.
• Placements supported by consumer context, whether it’s at home, during downtime, or while exploring content through wearables, will help ensure campaigns add value rather than noise.

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