Report: Social video ads are standing out, but losing the brand
October 5, 2026



Zappi has released its fourth annual State of Creative Effectiveness report, which analyses real consumer response to more than 3,300 social video ads across the UK and the US on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. Zappi compiled the research using its Creative Power score, which assesses the overall ad effectiveness across categories such as resonance, brand connection, persuasion, distinctiveness and emotional intensity.

Those ranking in the top 20 per cent are considered ‘top-performing’ for this report. One of the key takeaways that emerged was the growing divide between the creative that stands out, the creative that persuades and the creative that builds the brand. The findings come at a time when digital video now accounts for 58 per cent of US video ad spend, per the IAB, with marketers spreading investment across more platforms, creators and executions than ever before.


Key findings include:

1. Creator-style content often underperforms brand-made social content. Ads designed to resemble creator content were 30 per cent less likely to be a top performer and had the weakest brand connection of any creative characteristic studied. By contrast, brand-made creative designed to feel native to social was among the strongest performing formats tested.

2. The tactics that make an ad stand out are not necessarily the ones that persuade. Ads built around a strong visual hook were 2.4x more likely to be top performers, making them especially effective at driving distinctiveness. Persuasion was strongest when the content contained a clear product benefit and ended with a positive resolution. Scroll ads need to stand out quickly while still giving consumers a clear product use case and a complete story.

3. Borrowed attention doesn’t replace distinctive branding. Ads using three or more distinctive brand assets – such as colors, slogans and recurring characters – were 30 per cent more likely to be top performers and were the strongest driver of brand connection. These assets were also the only creative characteristic studied to substantially improve brand connection, underscoring the importance of a consistent brand identity as content spreads across creators and platforms.

4. The product alone isn’t doing enough to connect the ad back to the brand. Pack shots appeared in roughly half of all ads studied, making them the second most common branding device after logos, which appeared in 97 per cent. Yet pack shots delivered the weakest lift in brand connection. Brand colors and slogans appeared less often but did far more to help consumers identify the advertiser.

5. Being on social isn’t enough to win Gen Z. Across all four platforms, 25–34-year-olds were more likely than 18–24-year-olds to say they “love” the digital advertising they see. More broadly, emotional response and persuasion peaked among 25–44-year-olds, while 18–24s scored relatively low across emotion, persuasion, distinctiveness and brand connection.

“Content has scaled faster than the systems marketers use to validate it and prove its value,” commented Nataly Kelly, chief marketing officer at Zappi. “Brands are making thousands of smaller creative decisions across more platforms, creators and audiences, and our research shows that what stands out is not always what persuades or builds the brand. Brands need a connected and continuous insights system that can keep pace with that complexity and help marketers know what is actually delivering brand and business value.”

Zappi’s 2026 report analysed over 3,300 social video ads across 21 categories in the UK and US, with every ad tested with real consumers.