Looking for the best Facebook video ad examples in 2021?
Cool. I’ve been doing that a lot recently, too.
That’s because video ads have become an indisputable requirement for any Facebook advertising campaign.
When researching Facebook Ad Library for good examples, I noticed that 80% of the TOP brands’ Facebook ad creatives were videos.
Facebook video ads have become a necessity in 2021. You can’t go on running static ads only.
Even slight movement helps to capture the attention 👀
Fun fact: Facebook algorithms deliver static and video ads to different audiences, depending on what a user is more likely to react to. So if you want to reach the people more susceptible to video content, you’ll need attractive video creatives.👀
The #1 obstacle that marketers come across when creating video ads for their Facebook or Instagram campaigns is the lack of skill and know-how. Reach out if you need help with Facebook video ad creation.
For additional inspiration, you or check out what we’ve published on this blog – including 180 Best Facebook ad examples and 84 Best Instagram ad examples.
Facebook video ad best practices
Before I created my first video ads, I had a number of questions:
- What are Facebook video ads’ best practices?
- How long should the ad videos be and what’s the correct size of Facebook video ads?
- What should the Facebook video ads feature?
- What tools are used to create video ads?
- Do we need an agency to create the ad videos for us?
I’ll do my best to answer all of these questions for you in this article.
Let’s not drag this intro too long and get to the Facebook video ad examples!
Best Facebook video ad examples, 2022 update
I found the following video ads while browsing the Facebook Ad Library – I like to regularly check my selected 100 brands’ ad creatives to keep my creative know-how up to date.
What you’re about to see is the “best of” from my research. Also, subscribe to my newsletter to receive new Facebook ad examples to your inbox 2x per month. 🙆♀️
#1: Oreo
I envy whoever produced this video ad for Oreo as it’s perfectly executed, having a high-quality sleek look, fast-paced movement, and eye-capturing shifting patterns.
#2: Deliveroo
Deliveroo is running tens of similar Facebook ads, each featuring various city districts and relevant restaurants. Such automatically customized ads are usually created with a creative automation tool, e.g. Smartly.
#3: Spotify
Similarly to the previous ad, this Spotify looks a lot like it’s created using an automated Facebook video duplication tool.
Be it as it may, they have managed to create an engaging Facebook video ad with very few resources: An album cover, mixed colorful elements, and on-point typography.
#4: Restream
Working with Restream, we created a set of Facebook video ads that are essentially an animated version of their static ads.
Bringing your static ads to life is a good way to get started with video advertising on Facebook. You just need a motion designer who can help to make your existing design assets move.
#5: Airbnb
The first four ads that you saw were all around 15 seconds long or even shorter. In contrast, this one by Airbnb is a brand awareness ad: it runs for 40 seconds and tells an inspiring story.
It is a best practice to use a mix of performance-oriented and brand awareness ads. Both need a slightly different approach:
- Performance ads should direct the viewer to make a purchase or take some other action. These ads usually end with a clear call-to-action.
- Brand awareness ads’ goal is to create… well… awareness about a brand and drive positive brand perception. These ads do not usually ask people to take an action immediately.
#6: Milka
Pardon my French. This ad by Milka is essentially reminding people to be nicer to each other. A simple and on-brand Facebook video ad.
#7: Sephora
This ad looks like it took a lot of work, so it is likely to be part of a big global Facebook campaign.
You can create a mix of Facebook ads – some that take less time to create and that you run in the short-term + the branding ads that you invest more time and money into and will run for a longer period, e.g. for 3 months.
#8: Klarna
I am a big fan of Facebook ad creatives that follow closely the brand’s CVI. That’s why I’ve always liked Klarna’s ads – they stay true to their pink color palette and as a result, their ads are easily recognizable in the news feed.
# 9: Snickers
Take notice of how this Facebook ad is pairing filmed video content with colorful background and typography.
By using highly contrasting sections throughout your Facebook video ad, you can assure that it will capture your audience’s attention while they scroll through their Instagram or Facebook feeds.
#10 Moo
One more Facebook video ad effect to test out is the “endless loop” technique.
Repeating motion effects are especially helpful if you have interesting video content that lasts only a few seconds. To make sure your ad gets shows for the full 15-second story ad length, make it repeat on a loop for 15 sec.
#11: Nars
#12: Mailchimp
#13: Dior
#14: Grammarly
#15:Wrike
Facebook video ad examples, 2020 edition
Below, you will find the Facebook ad examples that I collected for the previous release of this article.
Looking at some of them made me think that we’ve come a long way from the time when only a few brands were able to produce high-quality video content.
I should probably start to learn video editing…
#16: VSCO
The Instagram video ad by VSCO showcases their product features in a simplified 15-second video. Here are some key takeaways for you to consider:
- The first 3 seconds matter most – Notice how the first few frames are using a bright color to lead people’s attention to the the ad copy “transformative tools” and get them hooked to watch the rest of the video.
- Video ads ≠ no copy – In fact, it’s a good idea to keep copy in your ad video to better explain what’s going on.
#17: Facebook
Yeah, Facebook is advertising on their own platform and they’re pretty good at it. Here’s what they’re doing well:
- The ad asks a question – there’s a highly visible question always visible in the ad video that catches the viewers’ attention.
- Video & message match – Notice how the message “Need a push?” matches with the moving car’s message.
- Simplicity – a video ad does not have to be 30-seconds long and take days to create. You can start testing with simple animations that are simple yet catch people’s attention.
#18: Monese
Monese’s video ad explains how their product works and shows their app in action. Here’s what’s noteworthy about this ad:
- Display your product – on the one hand, you won’t need as much new content. On the other hand, people will get familiar with how your product looks and feels. It’s a win-win.
- End with a call-to-action – don’t leave people hanging after watching your video. Tell them what’s the next step to take. In this case, it’s “download the app.”
#19: Squarespace
This Instagram video ad by Squarespace is another nice example of simple video design in action:
- Show small changes – showing small changes such as the growing numbers’ count in this ad is a good trick for catching the viewers’ attention.
- Show you logo – It’s a commonly known best practice to show your logo throughout the video ad (that’s also a suggestion in Youtube’s video ads’ playbook)
#20: Nike
If you’re working with a lifestyle or eCommerce brand, your audience might appreciate more story-focused ads. Nike’s ad would make for a great branding video.
- Make it look high quality – if you plan to film your Facebook video ads, make sure you’re using a high end camera.
- Mix video footage & copy – seriously, having some copy in your video ads makes them a lot more comprehensible and having a powerful impact on the audience.
#21: Web Summit
Here’s another example of a story-specific ad, showing how a conference venue is being set up in the matter of hours (being compressed into a 30-second video).
- Tell a story – our brains are hardwired to look for patterns and follow stories, leading your audience being hooked to your video ad
- You don’t need a fancy agency – Web Summit’s video ad could easily have been recorded by a camera set up by a crew member and edited by another crew member. Easy.
#22: AppSumo
This ad is not really a video ad but a Slideshow consisting of AppSumo’s product reviews. Here’s what I like about it:
- Creating it took 5 minutes max – you can create a similar ad by uploading 3-5 images to Facebook and creating a Slideshow ad.
- Showcase testimonials – third-party testimonials increase trust in your product. This ad could be shown in a Facebook retargeting campaign to nudge people to make a purchase.
#23: Mango
Mango’s Facebook ad is like a tiny movie that combines nice views, a celebrity model and the brand’s products.
- Use video ads for branding – while this ad doesn’t invite you to buy any specific product, it reminds you about the brand.
- Work with influencers – if you’ve got enough cash, having an influencer (that’s loved by your target audience) in your ad videos doesn’t hurt.
#24: Reedeshop
- Animate simple messages – even making a word blink or change color can help increase your ad’s click-through rate.
- Use the right ad formats – when creating video ads for Facebook and Instagram, you can upload ads in multiple sizes. Check out all the current Instagram ad specs here.
#25: The New York Times
This is one of my all-time favourite video ads. Seriously, I think it’s genius.
- Create unique ads – The NYT video ad is unique in that it only uses text to tell a story, But it’s super catchy at that.
- Know your tools – I created a similar video ad for a client by using Photoshop only (creating video ads is easier than you think).
The top 10 Facebook and Instagram video ad examples were my favourites. Up next, you will find more video ads for even more inspiration.
But before you check out the rest, here’s a list of tools that you can use to create video ads:
- Photoshop for GIFs + Illustrator to create icons, etc.
- Sketch + Flinto/Kite
- Adobe After Effects
- Record videos on your own
- Buy video footage on Stocksy or other stock photo sites
#26: BeUnsettled
BeUnsettled’s video ad is quote basic in terms of video content. However, they’ve combined video footage that looks like stock videos with copy, giving it more substance.
The nature-movie-like frames also fit perfectly into anyone’s Instagram feed, which can be a good or bad thing, depending on whether the ad manages to catch the target audience’s attention.
#27: Pelacase
This is another example of a Facebook video ad using average video footage, but using the correct medium to tell the story.
#28: Facebook
Here’s a good Facebook video ad example for marketers with small budgets that want to test our some kind of video animation.
You could basically take a static image and pair it with an animated loading icon – you’re guaranteed to get people look and wait for your ad video to load, without this ever happening. But then again, you’ve already got their attention, so they might as well read the rest of your ad.
#29: Okia
Playing around with text is the easiest way to create video ads. You could do a similar video on Photoshop in around 10 minutes. (+ the hours you’ll spend to come up with a good message and unique value proposition ideas for your ad).
#30: BetterMe
If you saw this ad as a static image v.s. a GIF ad, which one would catch your attention?
Try turning some of your existing static Facebook ad designs into GIFs to find out if it helps to increase the CTR and lower the cost-per-result.
#31: MyTheresa
Here’s an example of an Instagram ad that probably required a high budget to create. This is definitely appealing to a lot of luxury goods buyers.
However, spending tens of thousands of dollars on video creation does not always mean your ad is 10 times more efficient. Make sure to think who your target audience is before buying a video from an agency.
#32: Stuudionahk
For a leather goods brand like this one, creating a video ad to showcase their products makes a lot of sense. However, I would always suggest that you pair your video ads with image ads to see what works best.
#33: DRM Bracelets
This is a completely random campaign by some drop shipping brand. But I have to give it to them – using the country name in the ad is a nice personalised touch.
#34: Trvl
Notice how this Instagram video ad example by Trvl combines images, copy and colorful backgrounds to create a video-like effect. In fact, there’s no video footage in this ad – another proof that you don’t need a large budget to create marketing videos.
#35: Monese
I’ve always been a fan of slightly animated video ads (we also test a lot of them in Taxify). The reason these animations work is that they catch people’s attention but don’t lead the focus away from the ad’s main message.
Alright… We’ve reached the end of our video ad showdown.
Here are some key takeaways to remember:
- You need to test video ads – there are brands whose audiences love video ads. But there are also Facebook and Instagram advertising campaigns where image ads work best.
- Creating video ads is doesn’t have to be expensive – take a look at all the examples in this article. Many of them could have been created in a couple of hours. Expenses do not equal results in the case of Facebook ads.
- There are many video ad hacks – from catching the attention in the first 3 seconds to ending the video with a clear call-to-action, there’s a lot you can do to double or even triple your video ads’ conversion rate.
P.S. if you’ve got some cool Facebook or Instagram video ad examples, send them over and we’re happy to include them in this list.