The future of advertising research in virtual, augmented, and extended realities

The ever-changing media environment brought on by the constant advent of new technologies requires advertising scholars to stay nimble, updating and innovating research theories and methodologies. In this essay, we note how the International Journal of Advertising has contributed to our understanding of immersive technologies, and propose research areas to further advance our knowledge of 'how advertising works' in immersive spaces. Through the discussion of the four focal research areas, including naturally mapped interactivity, context-on-demand in advertising, user experiences with immersive advertising, and the emerging media landscape associated with the metaverse, we call on advertising scholars to consider the next steps forward to enhance our knowledge through transdisciplinary team-science efforts and collaboratively pursue the syntheses of theories, methods, and knowledge.