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ABCDs of effective video ads

Attention, Branding, Connection, Direction – these are the four principles of creating effective YouTube video ads. This ABCDs guide has recommendations to help you put our data-backed best practices to work.

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30%

lift in short-term sales likelihood*

17%

lift in long-term brand contribution*

A – Attention

Hook and sustain attention with an immersive story. Drop viewers in from the start and immerse them with audio and visuals that pique their interest.
We see a preview for a video with a man holding a bag of Cheetos with a hand covered in Cheetos dust.

Watch the video

Link to Youtube Video (visible only when JS is disabled)

Cheetos takes viewers right into the story of its new Popcorn, with bright orange fingers and a musical track that reinforces the key message.

Jump in

Get to the heart of the story faster. Use engaging pacing and tight framing to draw viewers in.

We see the preview image for the Fastrack X Ananya Panday #RuffleItUp video with a collage of Fastrack watches.

Fastrack dives right into the story and keeps the viewer engaged through dynamic visuals that play with pacing and framing.

Emphasize key points

Use audio and text to support the story and reinforce key messages. Avoid competing elements.

We see the preview image to a video showing an older man holding on to the sides of his glasses.

Silmäasema places helpful emphasis on its text and guides the viewer’s understanding with matching voice-over.

Keep visuals bright and high-contrast

Ensure visuals are optimized for all devices.

We see the preview image to a video of a woman having her items rung up at a checkout counter.

Pokémon uses bright accent colors, strong lighting, and contrasted visual effects to ensure visual engagement on small screens.

B – Branding

Brand early, often, and richly. Make use of a broad range of branding elements to show and tell viewers who you are.
We see the preview screen for a video from Ruffles for Porto 2020 with palm trees and a sunset.

Watch the video

Link to Youtube Video (visible only when JS is disabled)

Ruffles introduces itself early and maintains a presence throughout by integrating branded product in the story.

Show up early and throughout

Introduce your brand or product from the start and maintain that presence.

We see the preview image for the Weekendesk France Desktop Valentine video.

Weekendesk introduces its brand in the first 5s and naturally integrates its product demo throughout the ad.

See and say

Supercharge your brand visual performance with audio brand mentions.

We see the image preview from a video for Oi with a person staring down at their phone.

Oi reinforces the onscreen brand visuals with a corresponding brand mention.

C – Connection

Help people think or feel something by creating connections through the experience of your product.
We see the preview image for a Gojek video with a woman getting into a car.

Watch the video

Link to Youtube Video (visible only when JS is disabled)

Gojek presents the human experience of its product and the joy it sparks when it gets you to where you wanted to go.

Humanize the story

Feature people’s experience with your product and represent your consumer.

We see the preview image from a Bare Minerals video with a woman in a pink blazer.

BareMinerals features a diverse cast and gives them all a voice; showcasing the completeness of its range in the process.

Focus the message

Avoid doing too much in your ad. Keep messaging focused and simple.

We see a preview image from the video of a bag of M&M’s.

M&M’S aligns its visuals and voice-over to deliver a simple and clear message: they’ve now got pretzels inside.

Be engaging

Lean into storytelling techniques such as humor, surprise, and intrigue.

We see the preview image from a Fanta video with two animated characters and three bottles of Fanta.

Fanta uses surprising visuals and dynamic voice-over to captivate the audience and deliver an engaging message.

D – Direction

Ask them to take action and give clear, concise direction that’s easy to follow.
We see the preview image from a Halodoc video that shows how to book a visit in app.

Watch the video

Link to Youtube Video (visible only when JS is disabled)

Halodoc shows how to book a doctor visit, whenever and wherever you are.

Include a CTA

Be intentional and add a CTA driving a specific objective. Say what you’d like viewers to do.

In a preview image we see two people in orange from the Shopee video.

Shopee clearly communicates its offer and instructs viewers to download the app to access it.

Boost CTAs with audio

Reinforce your onscreen CTA by pairing it with voice-over to ensure the message stands out.

In a preview image we see two people outside from an Air Up video.

Air Up guides viewers with onscreen text supported by voice-over, reinforcing the final message.

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* Source: Google/Kantar, The Short & the Long of ABCDs Effectiveness, Global, Apr 2021. n=11,000 ads.