ad-meta

Overview

This skill defines exactly what to produce for a Meta ad creative across Facebook and Instagram. It is platform-spec only: the slots Meta exposes, the truncation thresholds that decide what users see, the asset ratios per placement, and the CTA button enum. It does not cover audience setup, conversion events, Advantage+ settings, or attribution.

Meta is unusual: most copy fields have no hard cap, only truncation thresholds. Writing past the threshold is fine — but the text after the truncation point is read by almost no one. Treat thresholds as your real limits.

Instructions

Placements Covered

Feed — Slots and Limits

Stories / Reels — Slots and Limits

Visual Ratios by Placement

Safe Zones (Stories / Reels)

• Top ~14% (≈270px on 1920px asset) reserved for username/handle overlay — never put critical copy there
• Bottom ~20-35% (≈380-670px depending on CTA + caption stack) reserved for CTA button + interaction icons + caption — never put critical copy there
• Effective safe zone: middle band of the 1920px height
• Logo + key copy belongs in the middle band

Advantage+ Creative Enhancements (2026 — check toggles live)

Many enhancements are on by default for new ads, and Meta keeps adding and renaming them. Review the enhancement list per ad before publishing. Common ones:

1. Image enhancement (recolor / crop)
2. 3D parallax effect
3. Music overlay
4. Image expansion (generative fill)
5. Alt headlines generation
6. Primary text variants generation
7. Image animation (animate statics)
8. Text variations generation

Brand-safety opt-outs (toggle per ad; confirm whether your choice persists to new ads):

• Disable "Image enhancement" + "3D effect" for brand-driven creative
• Disable "Music" for accounts with sonic identity
• Disable "Image animation" for product photography
• Disable "Text variations" + "Image expansion" for regulated verticals

CTA Button Enum (Pick One — 2026 Full Enum)

Meta only allows CTAs from this enum (selection depends on campaign objective). Cannot use custom CTA text.

Action / commerce:

• Apply Now
• Book Now
• Buy Tickets
• Download
• Get Access
• Get Directions
• Get Offer
• Get Quote
• Get Showtimes
• Install Now
• Order Now
• Request Time
• Shop Now
• Sign Up
• Subscribe
• Use App

Info / engagement:

• Contact Us
• Donate Now
• Learn More
• Listen Now
• Play Game
• Read More
• See Menu
• View Menu
• Watch More
• Watch Now

Messaging-objective only:

• Call Now
• Send Message (opens Messenger)
• Send WhatsApp Message (opens WhatsApp thread)

Pick the CTA that matches the actual landing-page action. "Learn More" is the universal default but converts worse than a verb that names the action.

Variant strategy: Meta's ad retrieval (Andromeda, 2024–) rewards genuinely different concepts — different hooks, angles, formats, people — over near-duplicate tweaks of one ad. Build the variant set from distinct concepts.

Hook Rules (Where Reads Actually Happen)

Meta is brutal about scroll-speed. The first 3 elements decide everything:

1. The image / video first frame — must stop the thumb
2. First 3 words of primary text — must reward the stop
3. The next line before "See more" — must promise something worth the click

So:

• Primary text first sentence must hook in ≤125 chars
• Do not lead with a brand name or "we are excited to announce" — pure scroll-past
• Video first frame must be the hook, not a logo intro
• Caption every line of video — 85%+ of Meta video plays on mute

Policy Constraints (Common Rejections)

• Personal attributes: "Are you depressed?" / "Diabetics, listen up" — Meta's Personal Attributes policy bans calling out the viewer's condition
• Before/after imagery: banned for weight loss, cosmetic, financial outcomes — even if real
• Sensational language: "Shocking", "You won't believe" — manual review trigger
• Misleading scarcity: "Last day!" "Only 3 left!" without evidence — disapproval
• Profanity: even mild ("damn") — disapproval
• Restricted categories: weight loss, gambling, dating, financial products, healthcare — require certification; health and wellness advertisers also face limits on lower-funnel event optimization
• Political, electoral, and social-issue ads: no longer delivered in the EU since October 2025 (Meta's response to the TTPA regulation); elsewhere they need authorization and a "Paid for by" disclaimer
• AI-generated or digitally altered realistic people/events in political or social-issue ads require Meta's AI disclosure
• Body parts isolated from context: cropped tight on stomach/legs — disapproval risk
• Text-on-image rule: was strict, now relaxed — but heavy text overlays still suppress delivery (lower reach, higher CPM)

Output Format

# Meta Ads — [Product] [Campaign Name]

## Placements
[Facebook Feed / Instagram Feed / Stories / Reels / Audience Network]

## Final URL
[Landing page URL]

## Primary Text
> [Copy — first sentence ≤125 chars must hook]
> [Rest of copy if any]

Preview slice (first 125 chars): "[show what users see before See more]"

## Headline (≤27 char recommended, ≤40 hard)
> [Headline] — [chars]

## Description (≤27 char recommended)
> [Description] — [chars]

## CTA Button (enum only)
[Selected CTA from enum] — [why this one matches the landing action]

## Visual Spec
- Ratio: [1:1 / 4:5 / 9:16]
- Shot: [concrete scenario, not stock]
- Text overlay: "[copy on the image/video]"
- First frame (video): [what's visible at 0s]
- Caption track: [yes — list per-scene captions if video]

## Variant Set
| # | Angle | Primary Text Opener | Headline | CTA | Visual |
|---|-------|---------------------|----------|-----|--------|
| 1 | [angle] | [≤125 char] | [≤27] | [enum] | [ratio + shot] |
| 2 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |

## Pre-Submit Checklist
- [ ] Primary text hook within first 125 chars
- [ ] First 3 words of primary text are not brand-name throat-clearing
- [ ] CTA button from enum, matches landing action
- [ ] Video first frame is the hook
- [ ] All video text captioned (85% mute viewing)
- [ ] Safe zones respected for Stories/Reels
- [ ] No personal-attribute language ("you, the [condition]")
- [ ] No before/after for restricted verticals
- [ ] No misleading scarcity
- [ ] Visual ratio matches placement

When NOT to Use This Skill

• Audience setup, lookalike creation, retargeting rules → out of scope
• Pixel events, Conversions API setup → out of scope
• Campaign objective selection, Advantage+ settings → out of scope