Guide
Make ads look native by filming them like a normal post
Updated
Make the ad look like the posts around it: vertical, one person talking, captions on and no opening screen of text. People often scroll past anything that looks like an advert, so the first second matters most.
In short
- A native-looking ad looks like a normal post on that app: vertical, one person talking, captions on.
- The video fills the whole phone screen, at 1080 × 1920 pixels, with no black bars.
- The ad starts straight away with the person talking, with no opening screen of text and no logo.
- Captions are part of the video itself, because many people scroll with the sound off.
- The ad ends with the person saying what to do next, not with an animated logo.
- Rules for a native-looking ad
- 7
- The shape of a full-screen phone video, 1080 × 1920 pixels
- 9:16
- TikTok ads that run from a real person's post
- Spark Ads
How do you make ads look native?
Follow these seven rules before you film. A filter added at the end cannot fix them.
- Native does not mean hiding that it is an ad. The brand, the claim and any paid-partnership label stay clear.
The seven rules of a native-looking ad
| Rule | What to do |
|---|---|
| Shape | Film vertically so the video fills the screen: 1080 × 1920 pixels, no black bars |
| The person | One person, chest up, camera at eye level, an ordinary room behind |
| The opening | Start straight away with the person talking, with no opening screen of text and no logo |
| The way you talk | Talk as you would to a friend, and keep the specific details a script would cut |
| Captions | Part of the video itself, in the middle of the screen, for people watching without sound |
| Extra footage | Only to show the product or prove a claim, with your face on screen most of the time |
| Sound | Recorded close to the phone, in a normal room, with nothing humming |
Rule: Shape
- What to do
- Film vertically so the video fills the screen: 1080 × 1920 pixels, no black bars
Rule: The person
- What to do
- One person, chest up, camera at eye level, an ordinary room behind
Rule: The opening
- What to do
- Start straight away with the person talking, with no opening screen of text and no logo
Rule: The way you talk
- What to do
- Talk as you would to a friend, and keep the specific details a script would cut
Rule: Captions
- What to do
- Part of the video itself, in the middle of the screen, for people watching without sound
Rule: Extra footage
- What to do
- Only to show the product or prove a claim, with your face on screen most of the time
Rule: Sound
- What to do
- Recorded close to the phone, in a normal room, with nothing humming
Three endings that make an ad look like an ad
The ending is where many ads give themselves away.
- An animated logo at the end turns the whole video back into a commercial.
- A designed button graphic, like an animated "Swipe up" arrow, marks the video as an ad.
- Music that only starts at the end sounds like a production.
- A native ending is the person saying what to do next, in their own voice, and then the video stops.
The same ad, two endings
Ending like a normal post costs nothing extra.
How it ends
- Looks like an ad
- An animated logo
- Looks like a post
- The person asks, then the video stops
What to do next
- Looks like an ad
- A designed button graphic
- Looks like a post
- Said out loud, once
Music
- Looks like an ad
- Starts at the end
- Looks like a post
- Room sound, or music from the start
| Looks like an ad | Looks like a post | |
|---|---|---|
| How it ends | An animated logo | The person asks, then the video stops |
| What to do next | A designed button graphic | Said out loud, once |
| Music | Starts at the end | Room sound, or music from the start |
This is the whole editor
Highlight a phrase and a clip lands on those exact words. No timeline, no keyframes, no layers.
Should an ad look rough on purpose?
No. Small flaws are fine to keep, but adding them on purpose looks staged.
- A bit of room noise, a slightly crooked frame or a stumble over a word are fine to keep.
- Scripted "ums", shake added in editing or lowered picture quality look staged.
- Specific details, like a price, a date, a name or a result, make you sound like a real person.
How much stock footage before an ad looks produced
Too much stock footage turns a person talking into a montage. Keep it to about half the video or less.
- Keep your face on screen in the opening, for the main claim and when you ask viewers to act.
- Skip clips everyone has seen, like a smiling team at a laptop or a city timelapse.
- Your own phone clips of the product look more native than stock footage.
Run the ad from a real account
Both big platforms let you run an ad from a real person's post, which looks the most native of all.
- On TikTok, Spark Ads turn an organic post into an ad, from your own account or a creator's, with their permission.
- With Spark Ads, the views, likes, comments and follows count on the original post.
- On Instagram and Facebook, partnership ads run from a creator's account, with their permission.
Native-looking ads with Cutroom
Cutroom edits a video of you talking into an ad that follows these rules.
- You upload one video of yourself talking, up to 3 minutes long, and get a full-screen 9:16 MP4 with captions timed to your voice.
- Cutroom adds an opening headline over your video, not a separate screen of text, and no logo.
- You choose from 40 caption styles and can move the captions up or down.
- Stock clips never cover more than 52% of the video, about half, so your face stays on screen. The calmer styles, Flow and Straight cut, keep it to 45% or 40%.
- Your first video is free, with no card, and you have 7 days to make it. It has a watermark across the middle, which Lite at $19.99 a month removes.
- If nobody wants to be on camera, Basic can make a talking presenter from a photo and a voice-over, for 350 credits per minute.
Questions people ask
- How do you make ads look native?
- Film them like a normal post: vertical, one person talking to the camera in a real room, captions on, no opening screen of text and no animated logo at the end.
- Does native mean hiding that it is an ad?
- No. Disclosure rules apply however the ad looks. Native means looking like the posts around it, so people watch long enough to hear what you say. The brand, the claim and any paid-partnership label stay clear.
- Can a professionally produced ad look native?
- It is hard. The opening and the ending usually give it away: a polished first frame and an animated logo mark the whole video as an ad.
- Should I lower the video quality to look real?
- No. Adding flaws on purpose looks staged. A real room, the way you talk and specific details make a video look real. Keep the picture clean and get the sound right.
- What are Spark Ads on TikTok?
- Spark Ads are TikTok ads made from an organic post, from your own account or a creator's with their permission. The views, likes, comments and follows count on the original post.
- Does an AI presenter look native?
- For explaining facts, it can. For a personal story, a real person is more believable. TikTok also requires an AI-generated label on ads with AI-made people.
Film one video of yourself talking and get a native-looking ad back. Your first video is free.
Try for freeYour first video is free, no card, and you have 7 days to make it. It carries a Cutroom mark; Lite at $19.99/month removes it