9 Facebook Video Ad Examples That WOWed Us in 2022

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, you might have realized by now that there’s one type of content that’s been dominating every social media platform: video.

In fact, over 2 billion people watch Facebook in-stream videos every month alone. If you haven’t started using video for your Facebook ads, you need to do so stat.

In this article, we’ll present 9 Facebook video ad examples that wowed us in 2022, cover some of the current video trends, and give you tips on how to create high-performing video ads that convert in 2023.

There’s a lot to cover today, so let’s get to the good stuff ASAP!

The secret to winning video ads

The biggest secret to a winning video ad is simple: make it so good that your viewer forgets they’re even looking at an ad in the first place.

While it's true that this is easier said than done, there are a few core rules you need to follow when you’re trying to create a killer Facebook video ad.

Optimize for mobile devices

According to Statista, 98.5% of Facebook users worldwide use their mobile devices to access Facebook. This isn’t surprising, as it’s also continuously rated as one of the most-downloaded apps worldwide.

This means that we, as advertisers, must make sure that we’re optimizing our video ads for mobile devices. Luckily for us, this is a relatively easy problem to solve. All you need to do is:

•  Make use of square and vertical formats – these take up the full screen of mobile phones and can capture more attention
•  Use short video content (15 seconds or less)
• Make sure your video can be understood even if the sound is off

In addition to ensuring your new ads meet these guidelines, you can also re-purpose older videos that performed well and edit them to be more mobile-friendly for 2023.

Get to the point (quickly)

If you’re going by Facebook’s recommendations, your video length will only be around 15 seconds max. That means your ad needs to capture attention within the first 3 seconds to get them to stop and get to the point as quickly as possible.

Take this example from Garmin:

In just a few seconds (5 to be exact), you know that this is a fitness tracking app for cyclers—and you don’t need sound or ad copy to be able to decipher the meaning. This is something you should strive for with all your ads.

Use the right video specs for your ad placements

The video creation process can be long and labor-intensive. For that reason, I see a lot of advertisers try to take the easy way out by creating a video in one specific format and using that across every placement Facebook has to offer.

The problem with that is pretty obvious—a video designed with landscape dimensions in mind simply doesn’t look right when squished into square formats. Think round peg, square hole problem.

When creating your ads, make sure to keep to the recommended video specs for your ad placements.

Track the right video ad metrics

There’s nothing more disappointing than the feeling of watching your video ad completely flop— especially when you were anticipating something much better.

Unfortunately, Facebook ads, and especially video ads, are a highly-competitive ad format. This means you need to constantly monitor your performance, analyze your video ad metrics, and test different ads against each other.

For each video ad you create, you want to make sure you’re keeping track of your

• Video-view metrics like 3-Second Video Plays, Video Average Play Time, and Video Play Percentages
• Outbound Click-Through Rate
• Conversions
• Conversion Rate (AKA Result Rate)
• ROAS (Return On Ad Spend)
• Cost per Conversion (AKA Cost per Action)

If you’re not quite sure how to track these metrics or the best software to do so, check out our Facebook ad reporting guide here.

The hottest 2022 video ad trends

Videos, much like fashion, have their own unique trends that evolve over time. If you want to keep your conversion rates up, you need to be clued into what’s popular at any given moment.

Here’s a breakdown of the hottest 2022 video ad trends you need to know about to keep up with what the cool kids are doing these days.

Hint: it has nothing to do with Heelys or bell-bottom jeans. (sadly)

Adding captions to your videos

We’ve been in a mobile-first world for a long time now, and it shouldn’t be surprising to learn that most people (around 70%) watch videos with the sound off while on mobile devices.

It’s also become increasingly more common in video ads in 2022 to boot.

If your video features a lot of spoken words (think tutorials, reviews, etc.), adding captions can be a great way to retain viewers who have their sound off and might otherwise skip right by it. 

My favorite part of this trend is that the hearing impaired also have better captions to work with and are able to enjoy a broader range of content than ever before.

This trend is something we expect to continue through 2023 and beyond.

Keepin’ it real

As Facebook advertisers, we always aspire to do everything perfectly the first time. But after all these years, it might just be time to embrace our flaws once and for all.

In fact, a 2019 study from Meta found that there was “an 84% likelihood that self-recorded, mobile-shot creative would outperform studio-shot creative in driving content views, as well as a 63% likelihood that it would drive more lower-funnel outcomes like purchases and app installs.”

 When trying to explain this phenomenon, they came up with the following reasoning:

“The preference may stem in part from millennials and Gen Z experiencing ‘perfection fatigue.’ A YPulse survey found that 90% of 18–36-year-olds like it when people showcase their flaws and imperfections, while 60% think it's okay for clothing brands to show imperfect images of spokespeople or products.”

If you’re still spending a ton in photo editing fees to remove your model's flaws or using high-dollar studio shots, you might actually be doing a disservice to your brand.

Let’s face it: in 2023, perfection is out—embracing authenticity, as flawed as it may be, is in.

Featuring user-generated content

The best ad copy isn’t paid for—it’s the quotes and rave reviews from your happy customers that truly have the most impact on prospective buyers. 

This is one of the reasons why user-generated content has grown exponentially in the past few years—for a good reason. 

A report by Semrush even found that engagement increases by 28% when consumers can view a mixture of user-generated product videos and official brand-authored content. 

For consumers, knowing that there are real people using the product with great results gives them more assurance when deciding which brands they want to invest in. When creating video ads, make sure to try out user-generated content (like reviews or tutorials) to make your product stand out.

Short-form ‘TikTok style’ content for Reels and Stories

TikTok’s rise to fame has had impacts on social media platforms all around the globe, and the Meta suite is no stranger to those effects.

In 2020, Meta released Instagram Reels as a direct competitor to TikTok’s short-form styled content. This has proved one of the more successful ventures, as 66% of Instagram video viewers found this video style more engaging than others.

This style is characterized by incredibly short videos (typically 15-20 seconds) that serve as ‘infotainment’. Most of these videos involve some sort of lip-syncing or play on words. However, they can also be used to showcase product tutorials, tell micro stories, or show behind-the-scenes brand shots.

(If you need some examples, here’s a great overview of TikTok ideas for brands from Inbound Explained.)

In short (🥁), if you plan to go this route with your video ads, make sure you:

• Are able to capture your audience's attention quickly (within the first 3 seconds)
• Keep your video under 60 seconds max
• Keep the vertical format - no messily cropped landscape ads that ‘technically’ fit the format

As long as you follow our basic video guidelines and capitalize on some of the trends we mentioned above, you’ll be well on your way to creating high-converting Facebook video ads.

9 top Facebook video ad examples in 2022

Now that we’ve covered the basic principles for creating Facebook video ads, we can skip to the good part—some amazing examples from competitors around the globe.

In-stream video ad examples 

1. Thrive Market

When we were talking about short TikTok-style content, this is exactly the sort of content I had in mind.

Thrive Market does a great job of telling a story as quickly as possible with this ad. Starting at the beginning, the first caption you see immediately calls out the first benefit of the product: eating healthy at a price point that’s affordable.

The video goes on to show you exactly what you can get with Thrive Market by looking at real footage of their products being unboxed, just like you would at home. Unboxing videos are also very common on YouTube/TikTok, meaning they’re capitalizing on another trend too.

Pair this with their offer for $60 in free groceries if you join now, and you have an offer too delicious to ignore.

2. Talkiatry

If you’ve taken any copywriting courses or read any strategies online, one thing you’ll hear repeatedly is that you need to talk to your audience using the same language they use. To this end, Talkiatry hit the nail on the head.

Those of us who have depression or have ever been through a truly rough patch in life have likely said something very close to what’s shown in this video ad. By calling out this very normal behavior and using it for their ad, Talkiatry is ensuring that the message truly resonates with the intended audience.

Adding a great call to action at the end not only tells the audience what to do next, but for some, it also gives them a sense of hope.

3. Semrush

If I had only one piece of advice to give to B2B companies, it would be this: video ads aren’t just for eCommerce brands anymore.

Luckily, Semrush got the message with this ad for their online conference, Global Marketing Day 2023.

By using video content to call out the event, they’ve already captured more attention than another boring static image. They also use this format to call out their top-tier sponsors and speakers, which is something a single image would have a harder time doing.

Like any good advertiser, they also end their video with a clear CTA – registering for their conference on February 16^th.

This is everything we want from a video ad: short, to the point, and actionable.

GIF ad examples 

4. Bones Coffee Company

The only thing bolder than Bones Coffee might be this ad. Aside from my caffeine addiction, I was attracted to this ad for a few reasons:

• It immediately grabbed my attention with a bright-orange background that stood out against my all-white desktop feed
• They showcased their fun brand by adding images of their different coffee blends
• They advertised a coffee sample pack, giving me more flexibility when trying them for the first time

In addition to the scroll-stopping content, they also utilized every inch of ad space by mentioning the coffee is freshly roasted and has 30 different flavors to choose from. This is an ad that’s sure to prevent me from spending way too much money on Uber Eats coffee splurges in the very near future.

5. Starbucks

Speaking of coffee, I would be amiss if I didn’t make a special shout-out to Starbucks for their use of GIF ads. I’ve been a long-time follower of their content, and Starbucks always hits it out of the park using these simple GIFs—typically to announce a new seasonal offer. They’ve been so clever that I specifically thought of them when writing this section.

Ads like these are proof that you don’t need a huge video budget to create something that’s appealing to your audience. Using simple GIFs that clearly state the offer can be an easy way to bypass long video creation times.

Carousel video examples 

6. Nike

As we mentioned in our Facebook ad funnel article, not every ad needs to be focused directly on the sale. Nike took this to heart with this carousel video ad example.

Here, instead of focusing on its shoes or athletics lines, Nike embraced the more human side of their brand by featuring stories from its Nike Football Community members, who gathered to discuss how football unites Black communities across the world.

While this ad may not inspire you to run out and buy a pair of new shoes today, it will endear you to a brand that chooses to spend its money on fostering racial equity and lifting up voices that deserve to be heard.

7. Clinique

What do you get when you add in the power of video, the flexibility of carousel ads, and the power of user-generated content? This great ad by Clinique.

Here, Clinique uses one of its happy customers to advertise its charcoal cleansing balm in a unique way. By utilizing the carousel format with this storytelling style, it’s less like an ad and more like a tutorial and rave review from a friend. The result? A more personable and friendly brand experience.

Stories ad examples

8. Firehouse Subs

The only thing more delicious than a freshly-made sandwich is when it comes with a dash of generosity.

Firehouse Subs is a fast-food chain that specializes in, you guessed it, subs. As this ad says, a portion of every sale goes directly to providing first responders (firemen) with the equipment they need to save lives every day.

At the end of this Story, they also mention that they feature rapid door-to-door delivery, meaning there’s no reason not to enjoy a delicious (and beneficial) sub the next time you’re feeling peckish.

9. Domestika

ASMR, which stands for autonomous sensory meridian response, is the term used to describe that little tingly feeling you get when you see or hear something stimulating or relaxing. This trend has a chokehold on YouTube, with ASMR coming in 3rd for the top searches on YouTube in the US. 

The reason I bring it up is that this Stories ad is exactly what ASMR is all about. Instead of using a generic video to showcase details about a watercolor class, Domestika brings you into the driver’s seat (painter’s seat?) by showing long, elegant brushwork that makes me feel more relaxed than my post-work cocktail. 

From an advertiser’s perspective, this ad would be incredibly easy to replicate. If you already have content available from your product (in this case, painting lessons), repurposing it to fit into your Facebook ad strategy can save you tons of time and money in the long run.

At a time when companies around the world are restricting ad budgets, using pre-existing content to fuel your ad creation at a better cost is key to retaining a high overall ROI.

Create stunning Facebook video ads with Sparkle

Now that you've seen some of the best Facebook video ad examples of 2022, your head must be swimming with ideas for your next campaign.

The problem is that most Facebook advertisers don't have the title 'video editor' in their resume and are left with only a few options for creating their next video ad:

• Using off-brand generic stock videos from royalty-free sites
• Paying design firms $$$ with ‘okay’ results
• Creating their own video ads with free editing software that ultimately end up looking like that botched Ecce Homo painting compared to their competitors

At the end of the day, not knowing how to create and edit your own videos is completely fine. 

What isn’t okay is expecting a low-quality video and ill-contrived ad to perform well. But that’s where Madgicx’s Sparkle services come in handy.

Sparkle is Madgicx’s own unlimited on-demand design service that works for both videos and images. Simply create your video design request, and you’ll have your first proof ready in as little as 48 hours.

Unlike other agencies or services, Sparkle also features:

• Unlimited requests and revisions
• Upfront flat fees (no hidden surprises!)
• Complete file ownership over the assets created for you

The Sparkle team also creates assets like flyers, email templates, and even NFTs—making it a true one-stop design shop for your business.

If Sparkle seems too good to be true, don’t just take my word for it. You can get started with a free design by registering for a trial here.

Conclusion

Today, we’ve learned a ton about how to create high-converting video ads by following current trends, formatting our ads with the most recent guidelines, and viewing some examples from brands around the world.

With this guide in tow, you, too, can create a Facebook video ad to be proud of.