How long should a video ad be? The honest answer is: as short as it can be while still doing its job. Length is not a quality setting. A 6 second ad and a 60 second ad are different tools, and most campaigns need more than one of them. This guide covers what each common length can carry and where it fits on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

Start with the job, not the number

  • Remind people who already know you: the shortest lengths work.
  • Introduce a product to a stranger: you need room for a problem, the product and a reason to act.
  • Explain something new or complicated: you need a longer cut, and a viewer who chose to watch.
  • Tell a brand story: the longest formats, on platforms where people settle in.

What each length can carry

  • 6 seconds: one image, one line, one logo. Good for reminders and retargeting, and it is the length of a YouTube bumper ad.
  • 15 seconds: one benefit, shown clearly, with a call to action. The workhorse for Reels, Stories, TikTok and Shorts.
  • 30 seconds: a small story with a hook, a problem, the product in use and an ending. The classic commercial length.
  • 60 seconds and over: a real story, a demonstration or an explainer. Best on YouTube, on a website or in a sales email.

Whatever the total, the opening decides whether the rest is seen. We cover that in promo videos that win the first three seconds.

TikTok, Reels and Shorts

These are vertical 9:16 feeds where the next video is one swipe away. Shorter usually wins. Aim for 10 to 20 seconds for a product ad, put the most interesting frame first, and make the point before the viewer has decided whether to stay. Creator-style ads can run a little longer if the person on screen holds attention, which is why AI UGC ads are often cut at both 15 and 30 seconds and tested against each other.

Facebook and Instagram feed, and Stories

In the feed, square 1:1 or 4:5 video takes up more of the screen than widescreen. Many people watch with the sound off, so the message has to work in captions and on-screen text. Around 15 seconds is a safe default. Stories are full-screen and tapped through quickly, so treat each one as a single short message with one link.

YouTube

YouTube is the one place where longer ads are normal, because people arrive ready to watch. Skippable ads can be skipped after the first five seconds, so those five seconds have to carry the brand and the reason to keep watching. A 30 second widescreen master works well here, with a 15 second cutdown and a 6 second bumper for people who have already seen the long one.

Your website and sales pages

A visitor who presses play on your own site has chosen to watch, so 60 to 90 seconds is fine for an explainer or a product film. Keep the first ten seconds tight anyway, and make sure the page still makes sense for people who never press play.

Make one master and cut it down

The cheapest way to cover every length is to plan them together. Write a 30 second ad so that its strongest 15 seconds and its strongest 6 seconds stand on their own, then cut all three from the same material and reframe each for vertical, square and widescreen. That is how our AI Commercial is delivered, and an Ad Variant Pack extends the same master into more hooks, lengths and languages.

Let the numbers settle it

Advice like this gets you to a sensible first version. After that, your own results matter more than any rule. Run two lengths of the same ad to the same audience and compare:

  • How many people watch past the first three seconds.
  • How many watch to the end.
  • What each click or sale costs.

If people drop out at the same moment every time, the problem is that moment, not the total length. Fix the shot, then test again.

Check the platform limits

Each platform sets its own minimum and maximum lengths for each ad placement, and they change from time to time. Check the current ad specifications before you commission a cut, or ask the studio to deliver against them. We name every file for the placement it is meant for, so nothing is uploaded in the wrong shape.

A simple starting point

  • Selling one product on social: a 15 second vertical ad, with a 6 second version for retargeting.
  • Launching a brand: a 30 second master, plus 15 and 6 second cutdowns in every shape.
  • Explaining software or a service: a 60 second film for the website, plus a 15 second teaser for social.

If you are not sure which of these fits, a free 15 minute call is enough to choose. Prices for each format are on the pricing page.