Midjourney V7 for Advertising: Create Stunning Ad Visuals with AI

Midjourney V7 is not just an incremental model update -- it is a rebuilt system that fundamentally changes how ad visuals are produced. Enhanced photorealism, personalized aesthetic profiles, style reference codes for brand consistency, a Draft Mode that generates images 10x faster at half cost, and a new V1 Video Model that bridges still imagery and motion content.

If you produce ad creative -- product shots, social banners, hero images, lifestyle photography, or display ads -- V7 is the most capable tool available for photorealistic commercial imagery. This guide covers everything advertisers need: what changed in V7, prompt strategies for ad formats, pricing for marketing teams, and how to integrate Midjourney into a full image-to-video ad pipeline.

What's New in Midjourney V7 for Advertisers

V7 entered alpha in April 2025 and became the default model in June 2025. By February 2026, it is the established standard. The changes from V6.1 are substantial and directly impact advertising use cases.

Rebuilt Architecture

V7 is a completely rebuilt system, not a fine-tuned V6. The result is dramatically improved prompt interpretation -- when you describe a product shot with specific lighting, composition, and mood, V7 delivers it on the first or second attempt rather than requiring dozens of rerolls.

Enhanced Photorealism

The photorealism gap between AI-generated images and professional photography has effectively closed. Skin textures, fabric details, product surfaces, lighting interactions, and depth of field are indistinguishable from studio photography in most advertising contexts. Ad creative needs to feel premium and trustworthy -- V7 delivers that.

Improved Text Rendering

V7 reliably renders short text -- brand names, taglines, CTAs, and product labels -- which is critical for ad creative with overlay text or product packaging. Long paragraphs remain unreliable.

Superior Prompt Following

V7 follows complex, multi-element prompts with much higher fidelity. Specify a product, setting, lighting style, camera angle, color palette, mood, and composition in a single prompt and expect the output to honor all instructions. This precision turns Midjourney from a creative exploration tool into a reliable production tool.

Personalization System: How It Works and Why It Matters for Brand Consistency

Midjourney V7 introduced personalization as a default feature, and it is one of the most powerful capabilities for advertising teams that most users overlook.

How Personalization Works

When you rate approximately 200 images on the Midjourney website (using the ranking interface), the system builds an aesthetic preference profile unique to your account. This profile influences every image you generate going forward, subtly biasing outputs toward your preferred visual style -- color temperatures, composition approaches, lighting moods, and overall aesthetic sensibility.

Why This Matters for Advertising

Brand consistency is one of the hardest challenges in AI-generated ad creative. Without personalization, every prompt starts from a neutral aesthetic baseline, and you spend significant effort steering each generation toward your brand's visual identity. With a trained personalization profile:

• Your generations naturally lean toward your brand's color palette and mood
• Lighting styles stay consistent across different product shots
• The overall aesthetic tone remains cohesive even when generating wildly different subjects
• New team members generating on the same account inherit the brand's visual profile

Setting Up Personalization for Your Brand

Rate those 200 images with your brand's visual identity in mind -- choose images matching your lighting style, color palette, and mood. Reject anything off-brand. Within a few hundred ratings, your generations carry a consistent brand fingerprint. For agencies managing multiple brands, use separate Midjourney accounts per client.

Sref Codes: Maintaining Visual Identity Across Campaigns

Style Reference codes (Sref) are Midjourney's system for locking a specific visual style and applying it consistently across multiple generations. For advertising, this is the closest thing to a brand style guide that an AI image generator has ever offered.

What Sref Codes Do

An Sref code captures a visual style -- lighting characteristics, color grading, texture treatment, composition tendencies, and overall mood -- and applies it to any prompt you generate. You can either reference an existing image's style or use one of the 2,500+ curated style reference codes available through Midlibrary.

Using Sref for Ad Campaigns

The practical application for advertising is straightforward and powerful:

1. Establish your campaign style: Generate or find an image that perfectly captures the visual style you want for your campaign
2. Extract the Sref code: Use it as a reference for all subsequent generations in that campaign
3. Apply across all assets: Every product shot, lifestyle image, banner, and hero image in the campaign carries the same visual DNA
4. Share with your team: Sref codes are shareable, so your entire creative team generates on-brand imagery without subjective interpretation of style guides

Practical Example

Producing a summer skincare campaign: generate one hero image that nails the look -- warm golden-hour lighting, soft focus, natural skin textures. Capture that Sref code. Now every product flat, lifestyle shot, and email banner shares the same visual treatment. The result looks like one photographer shot everything in one session, even though it was generated across dozens of separate prompts.

15+ Ad-Specific Prompt Examples

Prompt engineering for advertising is different from creative exploration. You need precision, commercial viability, and outputs that work within standard ad format requirements. Here are battle-tested prompt structures for specific advertising use cases.

Product Photography Prompts

Hero product shot:
Professional product photography of [product] on a clean white surface, soft studio lighting with subtle shadow, 85mm lens, f/2.8, slight reflection on surface, commercial advertising style, 4K --ar 1:1

Lifestyle product placement:
[Product] placed naturally on a [surface/setting], morning light streaming through window, warm color palette, shallow depth of field, lifestyle photography style, editorial quality --ar 4:5

Product flat lay:
Overhead flat lay of [product] with complementary props [specify props], clean minimalist arrangement on [background color] surface, soft even lighting, magazine editorial style --ar 1:1

Social Media Ad Prompts

Instagram feed ad:
Lifestyle scene of a person using [product] in [setting], candid natural moment, golden hour lighting, warm tones, Instagram aesthetic, authentic and aspirational, shot on 35mm --ar 4:5

TikTok/Reels cover frame:
Close-up dynamic shot of [product/person], vibrant colors, high energy composition, Gen Z aesthetic, bold and eye-catching, mobile-first framing --ar 9:16

Facebook carousel card:
[Product] photographed at [angle], clean background with subtle gradient, product details visible, commercial photography, clean and modern --ar 1:1

Display and Banner Prompts

Website hero banner:
Wide cinematic shot of [scene/product], dramatic lighting, brand colors [specify], editorial advertising photography, aspirational mood, negative space on [left/right] for text overlay --ar 21:9

Leaderboard display ad background:
Abstract textured background with [brand colors], subtle gradient, clean and modern, space for text overlay, premium feel --ar 8:1

Vertical-Specific Prompts

Luxury product: Luxury product photography of [product], dramatic chiaroscuro lighting, dark moody background, reflective surface, jewelry advertising style, ultra-detailed textures, 8K --ar 2:3

Food/beverage: Professional food photography of [product/dish], dramatic side lighting, steam/freshness cues visible, rich colors, dark moody background, editorial food styling --ar 4:5

Tech/SaaS: Modern workspace with [tech product] as hero element, clean minimalist desk setup, soft ambient lighting, tech-forward aesthetic, Apple-style product photography --ar 16:9

Email hero: [Product] in an aspirational lifestyle setting, bright and clean lighting, optimistic mood, warm palette, email-friendly composition with clear focal point --ar 3:2

Seasonal campaign: [Product] in a [season] setting with seasonal elements, [seasonal lighting], festive but sophisticated, commercial advertising photography --ar 16:9

Draft Mode for Rapid Creative Iteration

Draft Mode is one of V7's most practically valuable features for advertising teams, and it changes the economics of creative exploration.

What Draft Mode Does

Draft Mode generates images at 10x the speed of standard mode while consuming half the GPU time (meaning half the cost). The outputs are lower resolution and less refined, but they are more than sufficient for evaluating composition, concept, lighting direction, and overall creative viability.

How Advertising Teams Should Use Draft Mode

• Concept exploration: Rapidly explore 50-100 visual directions in the time it takes to generate 5-10 standard images
• Prompt refinement: Dial in your prompt language cheaply, then switch to standard mode for final high-res output
• Client presentations: Generate quick concepts before investing credits in polished finals
• A/B test ideation: Generate multiple concepts, select the strongest 3-5, then produce at full quality

Draft Mode also supports voice commands -- describe what you want conversationally rather than typing structured prompts, ideal for brainstorming sessions.

V1 Video Model: Current Capabilities and Limitations

Midjourney launched its V1 Video Model alongside V7, marking the platform's entry into motion content.

What It Can Do

• Image-to-video generation: Take any Midjourney-generated image (or uploaded image) and animate it into a short video clip
• Camera motion: Add subtle camera movements -- pans, zooms, orbital movements -- to static imagery
• Environmental animation: Bring environments to life with wind effects, water movement, lighting changes, and atmospheric effects
• Subject motion: Add natural movement to subjects -- hair blowing, fabric flowing, subtle body movement

What It Cannot Do Yet

• Text-to-video: You cannot generate video directly from a text prompt. You must start with an image
• Complex motion: Full character animation, walking, complex gestures, and multi-subject interaction are not yet reliable
• Long-form content: Clips are limited to short durations
• Audio: No audio generation -- video output is silent

Advertising Applications

Despite its limitations, the V1 Video Model opens practical advertising workflows:

• Animated product shots: Turn static product photography into subtle motion content for social media feeds
• Cinemagraph-style content: Create mesmerizing loop content where only part of the image moves (steam rising from a coffee cup, hair blowing in wind, fabric flowing)
• Social media Stories: Animate hero images for Stories and Reels where static content gets skipped
• Display ad motion: Add subtle animation to display ad visuals for higher engagement rates

For more complex video ad needs -- talking head content, full narrative ads, text-to-video generation -- you will want to use dedicated text-to-video and talking avatar tools that handle those formats natively.

Pricing for Video

Video generations consume more GPU time than images. On Pro and Mega plans, unlimited video generations are available through Relax Mode, making experimentation cost-effective. Standard plan users should be more selective about video generations.

Midjourney for Different Ad Formats

Different advertising channels have different visual requirements. Here is a quick reference for optimizing Midjourney output by format.

Social Media Ads

• Instagram Feed (4:5): Use --ar 4:5. Lifestyle-driven compositions with bold color and clear product visibility
• Instagram Stories/Reels (9:16): Use --ar 9:16. Stack elements vertically, leave space for UI overlays at top and bottom
• TikTok (9:16): Same ratio as Stories but prompt for raw, authentic aesthetics rather than polished studio looks
• Facebook Feed (~1.9:1): Use --ar 16:9. Bold, simple, high-contrast imagery with clear focal points that read at small sizes
• LinkedIn (~1.9:1): Professional, clean imagery. Prompt for workspace settings and sophisticated palettes

Display Ads

• Medium Rectangle (300x250): Use --ar 6:5. Extreme simplicity with negative space for text overlay
• Leaderboard (728x90): Use --ar 8:1. Wide panoramic scenes or generous horizontal negative space
• Skyscraper (160x600): Use --ar 4:15. Single vertical product shot or stacked elements

Print and Email

• Magazine: Use --quality 2 for maximum detail density. Include bleed area by generating slightly larger than needed
• Billboard: Bold, simple compositions with massive focal elements readable at highway speed
• Email hero: Clean, bright, high-contrast imagery that maintains impact at low resolution and heavy compression

Midjourney V7 vs DALL-E vs Imagen 4 vs Ideogram 3.0

Advertisers need to choose the right tool. Here is an honest comparison of the leading AI image generators for commercial advertising use cases, as of February 2026.

Feature	Midjourney V7	DALL-E	Imagen 4	Ideogram 3.0
Photorealism	Best in class	Good	Excellent	Good
Aesthetic quality	Superior	Generic feel	Clinical feel	Good for graphics
Text in images	Improved, not perfect	Moderate	Strong	Best in class
Brand consistency tools	Sref codes + personalization	Limited	Limited	Limited
API access	No (web/Discord only)	Yes	Yes (Google Cloud)	Yes
Speed features	Draft Mode (10x faster)	Standard	Standard	Standard
Best for ads	Lifestyle, hero images, product photography	API-driven automation, ChatGPT workflows	Google Ads ecosystem teams	Text-heavy banners, posters, packaging

The bottom line: Midjourney V7 is the primary tool for lifestyle imagery, product photography, and aspirational brand content. Supplement with Ideogram for text-heavy graphics. Use DALL-E for API-driven automation. Consider Imagen 4 if you are deep in Google's ecosystem.

Pricing and Plan Selection Guide for Marketing Teams

Midjourney offers four subscription tiers. Here is which one makes sense for different advertising team sizes and usage patterns.

• Basic ($10/month): ~3.3 hours Fast GPU, ~200 generations. Best for freelancers exploring occasional ad concepts. Not sufficient for regular production.
• Standard ($30/month): ~15 hours Fast GPU, unlimited Relax Mode. Best for solo marketers or small teams handling 1-3 brands.
• Pro ($60/month): ~30 hours Fast GPU, unlimited Relax + Stealth Mode + unlimited video in Relax. Best for marketing teams and agencies -- Stealth Mode is essential for client work.
• Mega ($120/month): ~60 hours Fast GPU, all Pro features. Best for high-volume agencies generating hundreds of images weekly across multiple clients.

Recommendations by Team Type

• In-house team (1-3 people): Standard or Pro depending on Stealth Mode needs
• Creative agency: Pro or Mega. Stealth Mode is non-negotiable for client work
• Freelancer: Standard plan. Relax Mode for exploration, Fast for deliverables
• Enterprise: Mega with dedicated accounts per brand or campaign team

Image-to-Video Workflow: Midjourney to AdCreate Pipeline

The most powerful advertising workflow combines Midjourney's image generation with dedicated video tools. Midjourney generates world-class static imagery, and AdCreate's image-to-video transforms those stills into ad-ready video content.

The Pipeline

1. Generate hero imagery in Midjourney V7: Use the prompt strategies above to create product shots, lifestyle imagery, and campaign visuals
2. Upscale and export: Use Midjourney's upscale feature to get maximum resolution, then download the images
3. Import to AdCreate: Upload your Midjourney images to AdCreate's image-to-video feature
4. Generate video content: Convert static images into motion ads with camera movements, environmental animation, and visual effects
5. Add overlays and CTAs: Layer text overlays, pricing, product names, and call-to-action elements
6. Export for platforms: Generate platform-specific versions for Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, and display networks

Why This Pipeline Works

Midjourney excels at image quality but its video capabilities are early-stage. AdCreate's text-to-video and image-to-video tools are purpose-built for advertising -- they support text overlays, platform-specific aspect ratios, and ad-optimized output. The combination gives you Midjourney's image quality as your visual foundation and professional motion content for every channel, turning one image into 5-10 video ad variations.

Adding Talking Head Content

For ads needing a presenter, combine Midjourney backgrounds with AdCreate's talking avatar feature -- place an AI avatar in front of your Midjourney environment delivering your ad script. This creates professional video ad content combining Midjourney's visual quality with natural presenter delivery.

Full-Funnel Creative from One Image

From a single Midjourney product shot, create: static image ads for Facebook/Instagram/display, animated product video for Reels and TikTok, talking avatar ads, before/after videos, collection showcases, and email banners with motion. That is a full-funnel creative suite from one generation. Explore AdCreate's complete AI tools for the full range of formats.

V8 Preview: What to Expect

Midjourney has confirmed that V8 is ready to launch, and early reports suggest a significant focus on dedicated video capabilities.

Expected V8 Features

• Advanced video generation: Text-to-video capabilities, longer durations, more complex motion
• 3D capabilities: 3D asset generation for interactive ad content and AR/VR advertising
• Improved consistency: Better character and product consistency across multiple generations
• Enhanced editing: Built-in inpainting, outpainting, and regional editing

What This Means for Advertisers

V8's video focus could make Midjourney a one-stop shop for both static and motion ad creative. Currently, the best workflow is generating images in Midjourney and converting them to video in tools like AdCreate. If V8 delivers strong native video, advertisers will have more options -- though purpose-built ad video tools will likely maintain advantages in CTA integration and format-specific optimization.

The 3D capabilities could transform product advertising -- generating 3D models from photos and rendering them in any environment, from any angle, all within Midjourney. For now, master V7's capabilities, build your Sref library, and be ready to adopt V8 features as they launch.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Midjourney V7 good enough for professional advertising?

Yes. V7's photorealism and aesthetic quality are production-ready for social media ads, display advertising, email marketing, and digital campaign imagery. For premium print where every pixel is scrutinized, you may refine in Photoshop -- but most audiences cannot distinguish V7 output from traditional studio photography.

Can I use Midjourney images commercially in ads?

Yes, all paid Midjourney subscribers have commercial usage rights to images they generate. This includes using images in paid advertising, social media marketing, print materials, and client deliverables. Free trial users do not have commercial rights. For enterprise usage with specific legal requirements, review Midjourney's Terms of Service for your subscription tier.

How do I keep my ad visuals consistent across a campaign using Midjourney?

Use three features in combination. First, build your personalization profile by rating 200+ images that match your brand aesthetic. Second, use Sref codes to lock a specific visual style and apply it across all campaign generations. Third, maintain a prompt template library with consistent descriptors for your brand's lighting, color palette, and composition style. This three-layer approach produces remarkably consistent visual output across dozens of separate generations.

How does Midjourney V7 compare to hiring a photographer for product shots?

For digital-first advertising, Midjourney V7 can replace 70-80% of product photography needs. A photoshoot costs $500-$5,000+ per session while Midjourney generates equivalent-quality imagery for pennies per image. Traditional photography still wins when you need exact representation of a specific physical product with guaranteed color accuracy -- e-commerce listings, for example. For aspirational and lifestyle advertising, Midjourney often outperforms mid-budget photography.

What are the best aspect ratios for ad creative in Midjourney?

Use --ar 4:5 for Instagram feed ads, --ar 9:16 for Stories, Reels, and TikTok, --ar 16:9 for Facebook feed ads and YouTube thumbnails, --ar 1:1 for product shots and carousel ads, --ar 21:9 for website hero banners, and --ar 2:3 for Pinterest pins. Always generate at the native ad format ratio rather than cropping from a different ratio -- Midjourney composes specifically for the aspect ratio you specify.

Can I use Midjourney to generate product mockups with my actual product?

Midjourney V7 does not support uploading product photos and placing them in new scenes. You can describe your product in detail to generate realistic representations in various settings. For exact product placement, generate the background in Midjourney and composite your actual product photo using Photoshop.

How many images should I generate to find a winning ad creative?

Generate 20-40 images per ad concept to find 3-5 strong candidates. Use Draft Mode for the first 20-30 iterations to explore cheaply, then switch to standard mode for the final 5-10 polished versions. This uses roughly 15-20 minutes of Fast GPU time per concept -- a Standard plan supports 40-50 ad concepts per month.

Should I choose Midjourney or use an all-in-one AI ad generator?

They serve different purposes and work best together. Midjourney is the best tool for generating high-quality base imagery -- product shots, lifestyle scenes, backgrounds, and visual concepts. An AI ad generator like AdCreate takes those images and turns them into complete, platform-ready ad content with motion, text overlays, CTAs, avatars, and format-specific optimization. Use Midjourney for image generation and AdCreate for transforming those images into video ads, ad templates, and multi-format campaign assets. Start with a free account at AdCreate to see how the pipeline works.

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Midjourney V7 has made professional-quality ad imagery accessible to every marketing team, regardless of budget or production resources. The combination of photorealistic generation, brand-consistent styling through Sref codes and personalization, rapid iteration through Draft Mode, and emerging video capabilities creates a creative toolkit that was unimaginable two years ago. Pair Midjourney's image generation with AdCreate's video and ad creation tools to build a complete advertising pipeline -- from concept to campaign-ready video ads -- without a single photoshoot. Get started with 50 free credits at AdCreate and see what your next campaign looks like when AI handles the production.