Trending Ad Formats: What DTC Brands Are Testing Now

A testimonial ad lets a customer tell the story: the problem they had, what they tried, and what changed after the…

A static ad is a single image: a photo, a designed graphic or a screenshot-style post, with a headline that carries the…

A UGC ad looks like a post from a real person: filmed on a phone, first person, talking to the camera or showing the…

An animated ad tells the message with drawn or generated motion instead of filmed footage: 2D explainers, 3D…

A meme ad borrows a format people already share (a reaction image, a familiar template, a trending joke) and puts the…

A before-and-after ad shows the same situation twice: without the product and with it. The contrast is the argument.

A comparison ad puts the product next to the alternative the customer uses today (a competitor, the old way, doing…

A video ad is any ad that plays: from a ten-second product clip to a three-minute story. On Meta and TikTok most of the…

A product demo ad shows the product doing its job on camera, start to finish, with little or no story around it.

A street interview ad films passers-by answering a question or trying the product on the spot. Their unscripted…

A founder ad has the person behind the brand speak to the camera: why they made the product, what was wrong with the…

A talking head ad is one person speaking to the camera for the whole video: an expert, a creator or a customer…

A listicle ad counts reasons: « 5 reasons I switched », « 3 mistakes with… ». The number promises a quick, structured…

An unboxing ad films the package being opened and the product discovered for the first time.

A text-on-screen ad carries its message with written lines over footage or a plain background, with no voice. It is…