How to Spy on Competitor Ads and Build Better Creatives

How to Spy on Competitor Ads and Build Better Creatives

Your competitors are spending thousands of dollars every day testing ad creatives. They are running dozens of variations, discovering what hooks work, which formats convert, and where the audience attention is moving. All that testing produces valuable data -- and most of it is publicly visible if you know where to look.

Competitor ad research is not about copying. It is about learning from the collective investment of your entire industry so you can make smarter creative decisions from day one. The brands that consistently win at paid advertising are not working in a vacuum. They are actively studying what is working across their category, identifying gaps, and building creatives that are informed by -- but better than -- what already exists.

This guide covers the tools, techniques, and frameworks for effective competitor ad research, and how to turn those insights into higher-performing creatives of your own.

Why Competitor Ad Research Matters

Before we get tactical, let us establish why this matters for your bottom line.

It Reduces Your Testing Costs

Every ad you run is a test. If you start from zero with no market intelligence, you might test 50 creatives before finding a winner. If you start with insights from competitors who have already tested hundreds of creatives, you can skip the obvious losers and focus your budget on variations of proven concepts. This alone can reduce your cost-per-acquisition by 20-40% in the first month of a new campaign.

It Reveals Market Positioning Gaps

When you see what every competitor in your space is saying, you also see what nobody is saying. Those gaps -- unaddressed pain points, underserved audiences, untapped messaging angles -- are your greatest creative opportunities.

It Keeps You Current on Format Trends

Ad formats evolve rapidly. UGC-style testimonials dominated 2024. In 2025, AI-generated content and hybrid formats gained ground. By monitoring competitor ads, you stay ahead of format shifts rather than reacting months late.

It Informs Your Creative Strategy, Not Just Individual Ads

The most valuable insight from competitor research is not any single ad -- it is the pattern across many ads. When you see that three of your top five competitors have shifted to short-form video with talking-head hooks, that is a strategic signal about where the market is heading.

Free Tools for Competitor Ad Research

You can start researching competitor ads today without spending a dime.

Meta Ad Library

URL: facebook.com/ads/library

What it shows: Every currently active ad running on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and the Meta Audience Network.

How to use it:

1. Search by advertiser name, keyword, or topic.
2. Filter by country, platform, and media type (images, videos, memes).
3. View active ads, when they started running, and which platforms they appear on.

Pro tips:

• Sort by longest-running ads. If an ad has been active for 60+ days, it is almost certainly profitable. Advertisers do not keep spending on losers.
• Look at the number of ad variants. If a competitor is running 50 variations of a similar concept, they have found a winning angle and are scaling it.
• Check monthly to track creative rotation. What ads did they add? What did they kill? This tells you what is and is not working.

Limitations: No performance data (no impressions, clicks, or conversions). No historical archive of deactivated ads. Limited filtering options.

TikTok Creative Center

URL: ads.tiktok.com/business/creativecenter

What it shows: Top-performing TikTok ads, trending content, popular hashtags, and trending music.

How to use it:

1. Browse the Top Ads Dashboard to see high-performing ads by region, industry, and objective.
2. Filter by CTR, CVR (conversion rate), and view rate to find creatives that actually convert, not just entertain.
3. Analyze trending hooks, formats, and audio.

Pro tips:

• Sort by conversion rate, not views. A viral ad is not necessarily a converting ad.
• Use the "Hook" filter to study the first 3 seconds of top performers.
• Pay attention to the audio tracks. Music and voiceover style significantly impact TikTok ad performance.

Google Ads Transparency Center

URL: adstransparency.google.com

What it shows: Ads running across Google Search, YouTube, Display, and other Google properties.

How to use it:

1. Search by advertiser name.
2. View all ads the advertiser has run in the selected time period.
3. Filter by format (text, image, video) and region.

Pro tips:

• Focus on YouTube video ads from competitors. These are often the highest-production-value creatives in their arsenal.
• Compare ads across regions to see if competitors localize their messaging.

LinkedIn Ad Library

For B2B advertisers, LinkedIn's ad transparency tools let you see any company's active sponsored content. Navigate to a company page, click "Posts," then filter by "Ads."

Paid Ad Intelligence Tools

Free tools get you started, but paid tools provide deeper insights.

Foreplay

Foreplay is one of the most popular tools for saving and organizing ad inspiration. It aggregates ads from Meta, TikTok, and other platforms into a searchable, swipeable interface.

• Strengths: Beautiful UI, team collaboration features, ad boards for organizing inspiration.
• Best for: Creative teams that need a shared reference library.

Minea

Minea tracks ads across Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest, and even influencer placements. It includes product-level data, making it particularly valuable for ecommerce and dropshipping research.

• Strengths: Product discovery, influencer ad tracking, multi-platform coverage.
• Best for: Ecommerce brands researching product-market fit signals.

AdSpy

One of the oldest and most comprehensive ad intelligence databases, AdSpy indexes millions of ads with advanced filtering by text, demographics, engagement, and more.

• Strengths: Massive database, granular filtering, affiliate and landing page data.
• Best for: Performance marketers doing deep competitive analysis.

Vidtao

Specialized in YouTube ads, Vidtao indexes video ads and landing pages specifically from YouTube, providing data on ad duration, hooks, and funnel structure.

• Strengths: YouTube-specific insights, landing page tracking, script analysis.
• Best for: Brands running YouTube ad campaigns.

AdCreate's Trend Scout

Built directly into the AdCreate platform, Trend Scout is a competitor ad discovery feature that lets you research what is working in your industry without leaving your video creation workflow.

Key differentiator: Unlike standalone research tools, Trend Scout is integrated with AdCreate's AI video generator. When you find a winning competitor format, you can immediately create your own version using text-to-video, talking avatars, or ad templates -- all within the same platform. This collapses the gap between research and production from days to minutes.

Trend Scout features include:

• Competitor ad search by brand, keyword, or industry.
• Trend identification across TikTok, Instagram, and other platforms.
• Inspiration feeds curated by ad format and performance signals.
• Direct creation workflow: spot a trend, generate a video ad based on it.

The Competitor Ad Research Framework: 5 Steps

Having the tools is one thing. Using them systematically is another. Here is a framework that turns research into actionable creative strategy.

Step 1: Build Your Competitive Set

Identify 5-10 competitors across three tiers:

• Direct competitors (3-4): Brands selling similar products to similar audiences.
• Aspirational competitors (2-3): Larger brands in your space whose creative quality you admire.
• Adjacent competitors (2-3): Brands in related categories targeting the same audience with different products.

Adjacent competitors are often the most valuable to study because they reveal what your shared audience responds to in a different context.

Step 2: Audit Active Creatives

For each competitor, document:

• Volume: How many active ads are they running? High volume suggests aggressive testing and scaling.
• Formats: What mix of static, video, and carousel are they using? What aspect ratios?
• Duration: For video ads, how long are they? What is the dominant length?
• Hooks: What are the first 3 seconds of their video ads? Categorize by type (question, statistic, testimonial, visual shock, etc.).
• CTAs: What action are they driving? What offer are they promoting?
• Longevity: Which ads have been running the longest? These are the proven winners.

Step 3: Identify Patterns and Themes

Look for patterns across your competitive set:

• Messaging themes: What value propositions come up repeatedly? If four out of five competitors lead with "save time," that is a validated message for your market.
• Format trends: Is UGC dominating? Are competitors shifting to AI-generated content? Are split-screen comparisons trending?
• Audience signals: What demographics and psychographics do the ads seem to target? What lifestyle cues are present?
• Offer patterns: What promotions are common? Free trials, percentage discounts, bundles?

Step 4: Find the Gaps

This is where research becomes strategy. Ask:

• What is nobody saying? If every competitor focuses on features, an emotion-driven campaign will stand out.
• What audience is nobody targeting? If all competitors target small businesses, can you win with enterprise or individual creators?
• What format is nobody using? If your industry is all polished studio content, raw UGC will cut through the noise -- and vice versa.
• What objection is nobody addressing? If the common concern in your market is "it's too complicated," and no competitor addresses simplicity head-on, you have an opening.

Step 5: Create Informed Creatives

Now, armed with competitive intelligence, create ads that are:

1. Informed by proven concepts: Use hooks, structures, and messaging angles that competitors have validated with their own spend.
2. Differentiated in execution: Do not copy. Improve. If a competitor's testimonial ad works, create a testimonial that is more specific, more emotional, or more visually distinctive.
3. Gap-filling: Address the opportunities your competitors are missing.
4. Systematically varied: Produce multiple versions that test different aspects of your competitive insights.

This is where AdCreate's AI video generator closes the loop. You can go from competitive insight to finished video ad in minutes:

• Spot a winning competitor hook? Generate 10 variations of your own using the Brick System.
• See a UGC testimonial trend? Create diverse talking avatar testimonials without coordinating real customers.
• Notice competitors ignoring a platform? Rapidly produce TikTok-optimized ads or ecommerce video content to claim that territory.

What to Look for in Competitor Video Ads

When analyzing competitor video ads specifically, study these elements:

The Hook (First 3 Seconds)

The hook is the single most important element of any video ad. Categorize competitor hooks:

• Question hooks: "Ever wonder why your ads are not converting?"
• Statement hooks: "I made $10K last month with this one tool."
• Visual hooks: An unexpected image or motion that disrupts scrolling.
• Social proof hooks: "Over 100,000 businesses use this."
• Controversy hooks: "Everything you know about ads is wrong."

Track which hook types your competitors use most frequently and which ones run longest (indicating performance).

The Structure

Map the narrative structure of top-performing competitor ads:

• Do they follow Problem-Agitate-Solve?
• Are they using Before-After-Bridge?
• Is it a straightforward product demo?
• Is it a testimonial with narrative arc?

Understanding which structures competitors rely on tells you what resonates with your shared audience.

The Visual Style

Pay attention to production choices:

• Polished studio production vs. raw UGC aesthetic.
• Live action vs. animation vs. screen recording.
• Single presenter vs. multiple people.
• Text-heavy overlays vs. minimal text.
• Brand colors vs. neutral/native-looking content.

The Offer and CTA

The end of the ad reveals the business strategy:

• What is the primary offer (free trial, discount, lead magnet)?
• How urgent is the CTA language?
• Where does the ad send traffic (product page, landing page, lead form)?

Turning Research into a Creative Brief

All your research should ultimately feed a structured creative brief. Here is a template:

Campaign: [Campaign name]

Competitive Insight: Based on research of [number] competitors, the following patterns were identified:

• Top-performing hook type: [type]
• Dominant format: [format]
• Common messaging angle: [angle]
• Identified gap: [gap]

Our Angle: We will differentiate by [specific differentiation strategy].

Creative Specs:

• Format: [video length, aspect ratio]
• Hook approach: [specific hook type and angle]
• Narrative structure: [framework]
• CTA: [specific call-to-action and offer]
• Variants to produce: [number and variation strategy]

Production Approach: [How you will produce -- AI generation, UGC, studio, etc.]

This brief transforms scattered competitive observations into a focused creative strategy. Share it with your team or feed it directly into your AI video generation workflow.

Common Mistakes in Competitor Ad Research

Mistake 1: Copying Instead of Learning

If your ad looks like a carbon copy of a competitor's, you will: (a) lack differentiation, (b) potentially face legal issues, and (c) always be one step behind because you are reacting to their strategy instead of building your own. Extract the principle, not the execution.

Mistake 2: Researching Too Infrequently

The advertising landscape changes weekly. A monthly or quarterly research cadence is the minimum. Ideally, spend 30 minutes per week reviewing competitor ad libraries and trend tools like Trend Scout to stay current.

Mistake 3: Ignoring Adjacent Industries

Some of the most effective ad innovations come from borrowing formats across industries. A B2B SaaS company that adopts the UGC testimonial style that DTC brands perfected can dramatically outperform competitors still running corporate-style demos.

Mistake 4: Only Studying Big Brands

Large competitors have different economics. They can afford brand awareness campaigns that would bankrupt a smaller brand. Study competitors at your stage and budget level -- their strategies are more directly applicable.

Mistake 5: Not Tracking Over Time

A single snapshot of competitor ads is mildly useful. A longitudinal record showing how their creative strategy evolves over months is extremely valuable. Set up a system (spreadsheet, Notion board, or an ad research tool) to track competitor ads over time.

Ethical and Legal Considerations

Competitor ad research is legal and widely practiced, but keep these boundaries in mind:

• Do not copy creative assets: Using a competitor's footage, music, or voiceover is copyright infringement.
• Do not make false comparative claims: You can position against competitors, but claims must be truthful and substantiated.
• Do not scrape private data: Stick to publicly available ad libraries and transparency tools.
• Do not reverse-engineer targeting: While you can infer audience targeting from ad content, using insider information about competitor targeting strategies would be unethical.
• Do respect trademarks: Do not use competitor brand names in your ads in misleading ways.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it legal to research competitor ads?

Yes. All major advertising platforms provide public ad transparency libraries specifically designed for this purpose. Meta Ad Library, TikTok Creative Center, and Google Ads Transparency Center are all official, publicly accessible tools. Researching what competitors are running is a standard marketing practice. What is not legal is copying their creative assets (images, video, copy) directly. Use competitor ads for inspiration and strategic insight, then create original content.

How often should I check competitor ads?

At minimum, conduct a thorough competitive audit monthly and do a lighter check weekly. In fast-moving categories (fashion, tech, DTC) or during peak seasons (Q4, back-to-school), increase to twice weekly. Set up a 30-minute weekly recurring task to scan your top 5 competitors' active ads. Use tools like AdCreate's Trend Scout to get trend alerts rather than manually checking every platform.

What if my competitors are not running video ads?

That is a massive opportunity. If your competitors rely entirely on static images and text ads, launching video ads gives you an immediate differentiation advantage. Video ads typically achieve higher engagement rates and lower costs-per-click than static formats. Use the gap as a first-mover advantage and establish video as your competitive moat before competitors catch on. With AdCreate's pricing starting at $23/month and a free tier of 50 credits, the barrier to entry is minimal.

How do I know which competitor ads are actually working?

Look for longevity signals. An ad that has been running for 30+ days is almost certainly profitable -- advertisers cut losers quickly. On Meta Ad Library, check the "started running" date. On TikTok Creative Center, sort by conversion rate rather than views. Also look at ad volume: if a competitor is running 20 variations of a similar concept, they have found a winning direction. Finally, if you see the same ad running across multiple platforms, that is a strong signal it is performing.

Can AI help me create ads based on competitor research?

Absolutely. AI video tools like AdCreate are designed for exactly this workflow. After identifying winning competitor patterns (hook types, narrative structures, messaging angles), you can use AI to rapidly produce your own original versions. The Brick System lets you test multiple hooks, retention strategies, and CTAs independently. Text-to-video and talking avatar features mean you do not need production resources to match or exceed competitor creative quality. The speed of AI generation means you can go from competitive insight to live ad in the same day.

Conclusion

Competitor ad research is not a one-time project. It is an ongoing discipline that separates strategic advertisers from those who guess and hope. The tools are free or affordable. The information is publicly available. The frameworks are straightforward.

What separates winners from the rest is what happens after the research: the speed and quality of creative execution. Knowing that UGC testimonials are dominating your category is useless if you cannot produce them. Identifying a messaging gap means nothing if you cannot fill it with compelling video content.

This is where the combination of competitive intelligence and AI-powered creative production becomes transformative. Research what works. Identify the gaps. Then use tools like AdCreate to produce informed, differentiated, high-quality video ads at the speed the modern advertising landscape demands.

Stop guessing. Start spying (legally). And start building creatives that are smarter than the competition's from day one.

Try AdCreate free and build your first competitor-informed video ad.