Top TikTok Ads That Work

TikTok has quickly grown into one of the most domineering platforms of the last few years. The nature of its content means it has the capacity for particularly strong engagement; paired with the right creative strategy, advertisers can see some fantastic return on their campaigns. So what do good TikTok ads actually look like?

What Makes A Good TikTok Ad?

If you’re still denying the draw of TikTok, then you really do deserve to be left out of the conversation. With over 1 billion users active on the platform, TikTok occupies some serious real estate on the web, and to ignore it is to leave money on the table.

Of course, like any platform worth advertising on, there are tricks of the trade to get the results you want from your ads. TikTok is famously defined by a comparatively young audience, most of which are sticklers for quickly consumed, high-impact content. This means that any advertising tactics you may have used for say, Facebook, won’t work here (for the most part).

Luckily, we know what does work, and it’s a straightforward formula to follow.

Creative Rotation & Ad fatigue

Possibly due to the power of TikTok’s algorithm, content can be cycled extremely quickly. Although this is a blessing for impressions, it also means that ad creatives can be exhausted surprisingly quickly. In order to keep campaigns fresh, changing your creative every 7 days is advised (and even more for the ambitious among you). As well as switching up the types of ad you push, TikTok also recommends having varied footage in the actual ads themselves, including eye-catching transitions.

Video Length

The limit on TikTok video ads is 60 seconds long. Does that mean we want to use all of that? Definitely not – given the nature of the platform, you would be hard-pressed to get someone to view organic content for that long, never mind for a video ad. Realistically, you should aim for between 20-30 seconds, with the key messaging (and eye candy) displayed within the first 3-10 seconds of the ad.

Words and Sounds

The myriad of content on TikTok is one of its main draws; in particular, the platform is a breeding ground for musical offerings. From artists to creators simply using licensed tracks, the pairing of captions with music has become a welcome addition to many videos, even managing to influence Instagram to incorporate a similar tactic. Though music has its place in the ecosystem, any type of content can benefit from added captions, with TikTok findings suggesting that ads with text overlays are among some of the most viewed.

Authenticity

Being authentic with your TikTok content is particularly valuable. Notably, if you’re looking to make your mark on the platform, the type kind of content you include in your creatives should be on the lighter side.

So what does this mean? Content with a darker, brooding tone is unlikely to be popular. According to an article released in The Drum the emotional impact on users after watching authentic TikTok content was researched and showed that authenticity on the platform is associated with feelings of creativity, inspiration, and uniqueness. In fact, 48% of TikTok users see the platform as ‘joyful’ compared to 30% for social media platforms.

You can also bet that any content that comes across too salesy will put off your audience; keeping a carefree, breezy aesthetic to your creative can work wonders. Aside from purely fun content, TikTok also rewards experimentation and pushing boundaries, so if this is an on-brand approach, don’t be afraid to get wacky with your ads. Stuck for ideas? The wealth of user-generated content on the platform is a goldmine to reuse as marketing material.

Our Top Ten TikTok Ads

Understand what works? We should hope so. Regardless, seeing first-hand what has been effective already is a great way to get a head-start with your own ad creatives. With no further ado – ten of our favourites, in no particular order.

Ryanair

Ryanair’s ad creative shows an awareness of the themes and trends that users gravitate towards on TikTok. Making use of a green screen filter paired with a text overlay, the company gives off an impression of organic content by associating itself with one of the most used visual effects on the platform. Because of this (and a lack of an overbearing, serious tone), Ryanair exudes a sense of authenticity in its campaign.

Want more proof that this approach is something to be emulated? The brand has over half a million followers on TikTok and is even regularly cited as one to watch because of their effective marketing endeavours. Pretty impressive for an airline!

Beetology

By being aware of health-conscious users, Beetology has managed to grow a sizeable following by pairing its strong offering with an understanding of TikTok’s audience.

The juice brand has taken a multi-pronged approach to developing their brand, by blending both its own brand elements with content generated by a loyal fan base. Their upbeat videos have become particularly popular, being displayed via in-feed video ads to build considerable brand awareness.

eBay

eBay’s simple, yet effective ad works so well simply because it appears to be low budget, while not taking itself seriously. The casual aspects of the creative make it popular with viewers, while the ad itself seems to shy away from the star appeal of large influencers. This dynamic builds a relationship between the brand and the viewer in a much more natural, organic (and believable) way.

This ad also gets points from us because it manages to express what the eBay platform does, demonstrating its usability and telling a story in just 10 seconds. The use of text overlays is also effective and demonstrates how using captions can easily increase the adoption of new products.

KFC

It’s good to see so many brands understanding the TikTok demographic. KFC’s attention-grabbing opening, followed by a caption that seems like it could be written by a friend, combines both relevant information with a comedic slant.

Aside from being super relevant and modern, this ad reinforces a powerful creative with strong brand recognition, finishing off with a product showing and their infamous logo. Despite this being from a company as large as KFC, this ad smacks of personability, shooting this ad’s viewing through the roof.

American Eagle

As one of the biggest lifestyle brands on the planet, American Eagle #InMyAEJeans campaign made genius use of a branded hashtag challenge to maximise the reach of their latest campaign. Mixing the hashtag functionality with the fixation on dancing TikTok is so known for, their creative approach was immediately successful, helped in no small part by the inclusion of Addison Rae – the creator of the dance.

Giving people the opportunity to duet with the popular actress, swarms of users flocked to take part in the challenge, sharing their dances on the platform. Aside from getting a whopping 3.7 billion views, we can also see that more than 430,000 TikTok creators shared dancing videos. That’s a whole lot of grooving!

PepsiCo Australia

Using a combination of In-Feed ads and a brand takeover, Pepsi Max ran a first-time campaign on TikTok, to some pretty outstanding results. This campaign, aimed at showcasing the release of new flavours in Australia, was a prime example of how even new advertisers can have great success with the right approach.

The actual metrics of this campaign were nothing short of startling. In one single day, Pepsi Max managed to get a 24% click-through rate, reaching 2.4 million users in a 24-hour span. By the time the campaign was complete, Pepsi Max had had more than 10 million impressions, as well as a click-through rate of 17%.

Mercedes-Benz

Another fantastic example of a powerful brand takeover, Mercedes-Benz’s unique method of engagement meant that they found themselves with an influx of new followers and positive brand responses. Aiming at Gen Z and Millennials, their #MBStarChallenge hashtag challenge combined a high-quality brand takeover, alongside In-Feed ads making clever use of user-generated material.

The campaign was a huge success, with the challenge garnering over 180,000 participants sending in their entries. The numbers speak for themselves: a click-through rate of over 17% for their brand takeover, plus an increase in brand favourability by a huge 18% (the latter found out via a post-campaign study).

Netflix

In order to increase viewership for their new show ‘Tribes of Europa,’ Netflix created its own branded effect to go along with a unique hashtag challenge, known as the #TribesChallenge. This campaign, launching in Germany, utilised the help of popular German TikTokers to send the campaign off to a roaring start.

The streaming giant’s use of popular influencers, as with many other brands, is a surefire way to get users engaged in (and supplying) advertising content. The results were nothing to sneer at either, with over 1.5 billion video views by the time the campaign had come to an end.

Vessi

Rising footwear brand Vessi was able to capture younger audiences by making use of a more personal tone in their ad campaign, which embraced casual formatting to give the impression of a smaller influencer. The ad creative, almost indistinguishable from an organic post, made use of a duet-style competition, encouraging viewers to compete for giveaway prizes.

The brand, while still very much in a growth stage, has managed to get over 100k followers on TikTok, which is particularly impressive considering they only started running advertising in 2020!

Balmain

Balmain has a penchant for showing off high-end designs via catwalk. However, how they translate their product offering to the digital world is as impressive as their catalogue. Thanks to the physical restrictions during the pandemic, Balmain put on a live fashion show, promoting the upcoming event using targeted in-feed ads.

The show itself was a massive success, but more than likely to the credit of the accompanying ads, which were seen by more than 20 million people.

Get Started On TikTok Ad Campaigns With Insights From Replai

With the above examples, you can see how having the best insights can skyrocket your campaigns. Replai does just that, giving you and your creative team the tools to understand WHY your video creatives are successful.

Interested? Book a call with us today.