Ad formats that sell in 2026
Static banners, UGC, voiceover video, catalog ads and advertorials on native networks: when each format works and how we combine them.
No single format wins everywhere. In the campaigns we run, each format has its place, and the accounts that sell best have several formats working at once. Here is what we use and for what.
Static banner
The most underrated format. A banner with one clear benefit, a product photo and a price often sells for less than a video, because it’s understood in a second. It works best when it follows the model of an ad that already wins: the same structure and type of headline, with a different benefit up front. If you show a discount, the old price is crossed out, the new one is clear, and both are for the same unit.
UGC video
A person talking to the camera and showing the product. It’s strong for people who don’t know the brand, because it doesn’t look like an ad. The product has to appear in the first seconds, or the video gets watched but doesn’t sell.
Stock footage with a voiceover
Quick to make and easy to translate into other languages. It suits products that are explained through a story: what the problem is, what causes it, how the product helps. In our tests it sometimes beats UGC and sometimes loses to it, so we test them together.
Catalog ads
For stores with many products. Meta shows each person the products they viewed, or similar ones. Here the creative is the catalog itself, so its photos and prices have to be clean and up to date.
Advertorials and pre-landers on native networks
On Taboola and MGID the ad usually leads to an article. The article tells the story, explains the problem and only at the end leads to the product page. It suits products that need explaining before purchase, such as supplements and cosmetics. Native networks have their own content rules, so the article is written to meet them from the start.
How we combine them
- New customers: UGC, voiceover video, advertorials on native networks.
- People who visited the site: catalog ads and more detailed videos.
- Returning customers and abandoned carts: static banners with the offer and price.
If only one format is working in your account, the fastest way to find new customers is to add a second one with the same message and compare them on cost per sale.
