Instagram Ad Examples: 8 Long-Running Ads and What They Do Differently (2026)

Below are eight Instagram ads that have been live for 90 days or more, from Greenies, Xfinity, The Farmer's Dog, Dose, MANTRA, TréLuxe, Beauty From Bees and PrayerSong, each with its start date and Ad Library link. We picked them from 428 long-running ads, and the pattern across those is about shape more than Instagram: almost every Meta ad is already set to run there, so the ones worth copying make a file for each screen and keep their words where Instagram's own buttons don't land.

Almost every Meta ad already runs on Instagram

We pulled 780 live US ads from Meta's Ad Library and 768 of them list Instagram as a platform. So "an Instagram ad" barely narrows anything down. The choice you actually make is the file shape, because Instagram shows a 9:16 file full screen in Stories and Reels and a square or 4:5 file in the feed.

Live US ads from Meta's Ad Library. "Lists Instagram" means the ad is set to run there; the Library doesn't say whether it served in Feed, Stories or Reels. The other 12 kept ads are 1.91:1, 3:4 or odd sizes.

The Library shows that an ad was allowed to run on Instagram, not whether it served in Stories, Reels or Feed. Read every example below as a file shape, not a placement.

Drop your file into the free safe-zone checker with the Story overlay on and see what Instagram's UI will cover before you upload.

Check a file

Three 9:16 ads that keep every word readable

Since most long-running ads are 9:16, start there. On a full-screen ad Instagram lays its profile row over the top 14% and the caption and button over the bottom 35%. Only 21 of the 91 9:16 image ads we checked kept every word, logo and button out of both; the pixel map and a side-by-side are in our Instagram Reels size guide. These three did:

Greenies dental treats ad with a woman and a dog, headline and Shop now button mid-screen — Logo, headline and its own button stacked mid-screen, on the photo's empty side.Greenies. Started Jan 6, 2026; 277 days running. Ad Library

Xfinity mobile ad with a purple offer box in the middle of the screen — The whole offer in one box between the two UI bars; even the fine print ends by y 966.Xfinity. Started Apr 24, 2026; 169 days running. Ad Library

The Farmer's Dog ad with a Meal Plans for the Entire Pack headline above food packs — Product photos fill the bottom of the frame, with nothing written on them.The Farmer's Dog. Started Mar 26, 2026; 198 days running. Ad Library

The ads that put text under the caption area didn't run any shorter (a median 198 days against 165 for the clean ones), so we see no delivery penalty. The reason to keep text out of those bands is simpler: people can't read it there.

The long-running ones ship two files in one ad

So how do the clean ones get a readable 9:16 without ruining the feed version? They don't stretch one image. 58 of the 91 9:16 image ads (64%) carry a separate square or 4:5 file in the same ad, and in the eight pairs we opened, the 9:16 file was laid out again rather than cropped.

Dose 4:5 file — Both files sit inside the same ad. Positions are measured on the real files. The Library doesn't say which file served where; Meta most likely uses the 9:16 one full screen.

Dose 9:16 file — Both files sit inside the same ad. Positions are measured on the real files. The Library doesn't say which file served where; Meta most likely uses the 9:16 one full screen.

Neither re-layout is clean. Dose moved its price below the top bar but left the offer and button low. MANTRA moved its name down, then added a Best Seller pill inside the top bar. When you build the 9:16 version, check the whole frame, not just the headline.

What happens when you upload only a feed file

The alternative to a second file is letting Meta fill the 9:16 screen. Meta says it uses "padding, media expansion, cropping and additional AI-enabled features" and doesn't name a default. The simplest case, the square shown full width and centred, shows the risk.

TréLuxe square feed ad — Geometry for one way Meta can fill a 9:16 screen: the file full width and centred. Meta may also pad, crop or extend the image with AI, and doesn't say which it picks. 123 feed images that ran 90+ days.

Beauty From Bees square feed ad — Geometry for one way Meta can fill a 9:16 screen: the file full width and centred. Meta may also pad, crop or extend the image with AI, and doesn't say which it picks. 123 feed images that ran 90+ days.

In 95 of the 123 long-running feed images we checked (77%), some text would land in the bottom 35%. It's geometry: the bottom quarter of a square and the bottom 29% of a 4:5 fall into that band, and TréLuxe's button is one of them. The free Meta Ad Resizer extends a square or 4:5 ad to 9:16, so you see the full-screen version before Meta improvises one. For more like Beauty From Bees, see the beauty and skincare ads 111 brands keep running.

Video ads: most run past the first Story card

Video follows the same shape rules, plus one limit on length. Meta's Ads Guide for Instagram Stories says videos under 16 seconds play in full and longer ones may be split into up to three cards. Most of the long-running 9:16 videos are well past that line.

under 16 s: a Story plays them whole

133

16 s or longer: may be split into up to three cards

16 s

median 31.8 s

0306090120+

One dot per video ad. Hover or tap a column for the count.

168 9:16 video ads that list Instagram and ran 90+ days, seconds on the axis. The longest, at 6 min 24 s, sits in the last column. Card splitting is from Meta's Ads Guide for Instagram Stories.

Meta doesn't say how many viewers reach the second card, so we treat the first 15 seconds as the ad and the rest as a bonus. Captions follow the image rule too: in a random 48 of these videos, 21 had their burned-in captions in the bottom 35%. PrayerSong keeps them in the middle, and the scripts behind ads like it are in our video ad script examples.

Four frames of a living room scene with a caption box in the middle of the screen — Captions in a box in the middle of the screen, where none of Instagram's UI reaches.PrayerSong, frames from a 2 min 49 s video. Started Nov 28, 2025; 316 days running. Ad Library

Instagram ad examples FAQ

What are some examples of Instagram ads?

Greenies, Xfinity and The Farmer's Dog run 9:16 image ads that keep every word clear of Instagram's buttons, and Dose and MANTRA run the same ad as two files. All eight on this page have start dates and Ad Library links.

What are Instagram Story ads?

Full-screen 9:16 ads shown between people's Stories. Instagram's profile row covers the top 14% and the caption and button cover the bottom 35%, so the message goes in between.

How long can an Instagram Story ad be?

Up to 60 minutes, but Instagram plays videos under 16 seconds in full and may split longer ones into up to three cards.

Can I use the same ad for Instagram Feed and Stories?

Yes. Meta fills the missing shape by padding, cropping or extending the image with AI. About two thirds of the long-running 9:16 image ads we checked came with their own feed file instead.

Can you see if an ad ran in Instagram Stories in the Ad Library?

No. The Library lists platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Threads, Audience Network), not placements, and shows no results outside political ads and ads that reached the EU or UK.

What size are Instagram feed ads?

4:5 at 1440 x 1800 for images, per Meta's Ads Guide. The rest is on our Instagram post size page.

Before you upload an Instagram ad

1Assume the ad will show on Instagram. 98% of the ads we pulled were set to.
2Lay the 9:16 file out again: headline below the top 14%, offer and button above the bottom 35%.
3Keep a square or 4:5 file in the same ad for the feed.
4Feed file only? Keep text and buttons out of the bottom quarter of the square.
5On video, show the product and the offer before 16 seconds and keep captions mid-screen.
6Run each file through the safe-zone checker with the Story overlay before you upload.

How we got this

On October 10, 2026 we ran 28 searches in Meta's Ad Library (US, active ads, first results page each) and got 780 unique ads. We kept the 428 that list Instagram, aren't catalog ads and had run 90 days or more, from 310 advertisers; days running are counted to that date. One person checked each 9:16 image and feed image by eye against Meta's Stories and Reels safe zone (14% top, 35% bottom, 6% sides) on a 1080 x 1920 frame, using the first image of multi-image ads. Video captions come from a random 48 of the 168 videos, four frames each, no audio. Searches match ad text and stopped ads are missing, so days running are not results. Meta's safe-zone page, Ads Guide and aspect-ratio help were checked the same day.