Creative Longevity Benchmarks

Computed live from the Adshelf shared library — real brands' Meta ads, tracked continuously. Not a survey, not estimates: the actual state of the shelf right now.

Data as of August 26, 2026 · n=258 brands · more added every day · sample currently skews DTC supplements, wellness & beauty · updates as the library refreshes

35,510
ads tracked
258
brands in the library · growing daily
33,838
running right now
27d
median age of a live ad
Longevity

How long live ads have survived

0–7 days (testing)2,037 ads · 6%
7–30 days (validating)17,022 ads · 50%
30–90 days (proven)11,785 ads · 35%
90+ days (core winners)2,994 ads · 9%

Only 44% of live ads have survived past 30 days — the line where an ad stops being a test and starts being a winner.

adshelf.app/benchmarks · August 26, 2026
Format mix

All live ads

Video16,803 ads · 52%
Image13,064 ads · 41%
Carousel2,371 ads · 7%
adshelf.app/benchmarks · August 26, 2026
Survivors

90-day survivors only

Video1,349 ads · 46%
Image1,413 ads · 48%
Carousel166 ads · 6%

Compare the two: the formats over-represented among survivors are the ones actually converting in this category.

adshelf.app/benchmarks · August 26, 2026
Angles

Persuasion angles — how long each survives

Every ad on the shelf is AI-classified by the play it runs. Average run days of live ads per angle — the longer an angle survives, the harder the market's proven spend leans on it.

Founder story
63d avg · 29d median · 167 ads
Humor
50d avg · 55d median · 193 ads
Convenience
44d avg · 29d median · 7,080 ads
UGC
44d avg · 28d median · 2,206 ads
Demo
44d avg · 29d median · 1,152 ads
Social proof
41d avg · 23d median · 3,997 ads
Comparison
41d avg · 28d median · 671 ads
Education
40d avg · 22d median · 164 ads
Lifestyle
39d avg · 23d median · 6,527 ads
Problem-first
39d avg · 28d median · 1,944 ads
Science
38d avg · 28d median · 3,826 ads
Discount
35d avg · 26d median · 4,885 ads
Seasonal
28d avg · 20d median · 1,182 ads
adshelf.app/benchmarks · August 26, 2026

Library also holds 1,672 stopped ads with full run histories — visible inside the product. Methodology: statuses and start dates from Meta's public Ad Library, collected continuously per tracked brand; run duration = days since an ad's start date. Cite freely with a link: adshelf.app/benchmarks.

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