Ad Creatives

Updated: Apr 29, 2026

This guide covers how to create and manage ad creatives with Ads CLI, including link ads, video ads, photo posts, and Dynamic Creative Optimization.

About ad creatives

An ad creative is an independent object that can be reused across multiple ads. The workflow for Ads CLI is:

Create an ad creative with meta ads creative create

Reference the ad creative when creating an ad with meta ads ad create --creative-id <CREATIVE_ID>

Every ad creative requires a --page-id -- the Facebook Business Page that acts as the ad’s identity. Find your Business Page IDs with:

meta ads page list

See Find your IDs for more information on finding any IDs needed for Ads CLI.

Standard ad creatives

Link ads

A link ad includes an image, headline, body text, and a destination URL. This is the most common ad format.

meta ads creative create --name "Summer Sale" \
  --page-id <PAGE_ID> \
  --image ./banner.jpg \
  --body "50% off everything!" \
  --title "Shop Now" \
  --link-url https://example.com/sale \
  --description "Limited time offer" \
  --call-to-action SHOP_NOW

Video ads

A video ad includes a video file, optional thumbnail image, headline, and destination URL.

meta ads creative create --name "Video Promo" \
  --page-id <PAGE_ID> \
  --video ./promo.mp4 \
  --body "Watch our new collection" \
  --title "New Arrivals" \
  --link-url https://example.com/new

Photo posts

A photo post on your Business Page. Created when no --link-url is provided.

meta ads creative create --name "Page Post" \
  --page-id <PAGE_ID> \
  --image ./photo.jpg \
  --body "Check out our latest product!"

How the format is determined

--video provided → Video ad

--link-url provided (no video) → Link ad

Neither video nor link URL → Photo post

Supported media formats

Images: .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .gif, .bmp, .webp

Videos: .mp4, .mov, .avi, .mkv, .wmv

Ads CLI uploads media files automatically when you create or update an ad creative.

Call-to-action types

Use with the --call-to-action option:

APPLY_NOW, BOOK_TRAVEL, BUY_NOW, CONTACT_US, DOWNLOAD, GET_OFFER, GET_QUOTE, LEARN_MORE, NO_BUTTON, OPEN_LINK, SHOP_NOW, SIGN_UP, SUBSCRIBE, WATCH_MORE

Instagram placements

To run ads on Instagram, pass an Instagram account ID:

meta ads creative create --name "Insta Ad" \
  --page-id <PAGE_ID> \
  --instagram-actor-id <INSTAGRAM_ACCOUNT_ID> \
  --image ./banner.jpg \
  --body "Shop our collection" \
  --link-url https://example.com

Dynamic Creative Optimization

Dynamic Creative Optimization lets you provide multiple variations of images, headlines, body text, descriptions, and call-to-action buttons. Meta automatically tests combinations and optimizes delivery toward the best-performing variants.

Requirements

--link-url for the destination URL

At least one --images or --videos asset

Plural flags (--images, --titles, --bodies) instead of the standard single-asset flags (--image, --video, --body, --title)

Create an ad creative

Use the plural flags (--images, --titles, --bodies, and others) and repeat each flag for additional variants:

meta ads creative create --name "DCO Test" \
  --page-id <PAGE_ID> \
  --link-url https://example.com \
  --images ./img1.jpg --images ./img2.jpg --images ./img3.jpg \
  --titles "Shop Now" --titles "Learn More" \
  --bodies "50% off everything!" --bodies "Free shipping today!" \
  --descriptions "Limited time offer" --descriptions "While supplies last" \
  --call-to-actions SHOP_NOW --call-to-actions LEARN_MORE

Use with videos

meta ads creative create --name "Video DCO" \
  --page-id <PAGE_ID> \
  --link-url https://example.com \
  --videos ./vid1.mp4 --videos ./vid2.mp4 \
  --titles "New Arrivals" --titles "Watch Now" \
  --bodies "Check out our new collection" --bodies "See what's trending"

Limits

Asset Type	Maximum
Images	10
Videos	10
Titles	5
Bodies	5
Descriptions	5
Call-to-actions	5

Update ad creatives

Update specific fields of an existing ad creative. Ads CLI changes only the fields you specify:

# Update text
meta ads creative update <CREATIVE_ID> --body "New ad copy" --title "New Headline"

# Replace the image
meta ads creative update <CREATIVE_ID> --image ./new-banner.jpg

# Replace the video
meta ads creative update <CREATIVE_ID> --video ./new-video.mp4

# Change status
meta ads creative update <CREATIVE_ID> --status PAUSED

Available update options: --name, --body, --title, --link-url, --description, --call-to-action, --image, --video, --instagram-actor-id, --status

Note: The API prevents updating some fields after creation.

If an update fails, create a new ad creative instead.

Delete ad creatives

Note: You cannot delete ad creatives that active ads use. Pause or delete the associated ads first.

meta ads creative delete <CREATIVE_ID>
meta ads creative delete <CREATIVE_ID> --force    # Skip confirmation

Full workflow example

# 1. Find your Business Page ID
meta ads page list

# 2. Create an ad creative
meta ads creative create --name "Launch Ad" \
  --page-id <PAGE_ID> \
  --image ./launch-banner.jpg \
  --body "Our new product is here!" \
  --title "Just Launched" \
  --link-url https://example.com/launch \
  --call-to-action SHOP_NOW

# 3. Create an ad with the returned ad creative ID
meta ads ad create <AD_SET_ID> --name "Launch Ad - US" --creative-id <CREATIVE_ID>

# 4. Activate the ad with the returned ad ID
meta ads ad update <AD_ID> --status ACTIVE