Facebook Ad Library research gives a creative brief real references: ads that competitors have kept paying for, next to your own ads with the best results. Collect five to ten of them, note the hook, angle, format and offer of each, and write the brief from the pattern, not from a blank page.
Why brief from ads that already run?
A creative brief is a one-page plan for a new ad: who it is for, the angle, the hooks to try, the format and the script. Briefs written from nothing tend to repeat what the team already believes. Briefs written from running ads start from evidence of two kinds.
- Your own winners. Ads in your account with the best ROAS or CPA over the last 30 days. You know their results, so you know what to keep.
- Competitor ads that keep running. You can't see a competitor's results: Meta's Ad Library API lists spend as available only for political and issue ads (Meta for Developers, Archived Ad, checked on 2026-10-04). You can see that an ad has been live for weeks, though. Advertisers rarely keep paying for an ad that loses money, so a long run is a useful signal.
How do I search the Facebook Ad Library?
The Meta Ad Library is Meta's public archive of ads. Meta says it "contains all active ads that are shown across Meta technologies", and that anyone can view and search it: "You can search for any term, name or Page" (Meta Business Help Center, About the Meta Ad Library, checked on 2026-10-04).
- Open the Ad Library and choose the country your customers are in. Ads differ by country.
- Search by competitor name or Facebook Page for a known rival, or by a product word ("argan oil", "posture corrector") to find advertisers you didn't know about.
- Keep the ads in the format you plan to make: video, image or carousel.
- Note when each ad started running and open the oldest ones first.
- Save the five to ten that share something, with a note on why you saved each.
What should I note about each ad?
Copying an ad gets you a worse version of someone else's ad. Reading it for its parts gets you a pattern you can use. For each reference, write down the same five things.
| Part | Question to answer | Example note |
|---|---|---|
| Hook | What happens in the first two seconds or the first line? | Opens on the problem, before and after |
| Angle | Why should the viewer care, in one sentence? | Saves time, not money |
| Format | Video, image, carousel? Length and aspect? | 15 s vertical, talking to camera |
| Offer | What is on the table, and what is the call to action? | Free delivery, pay on delivery |
| Proof | What makes it believable? | Shows the product in use, close up |
When three or four references share a hook or an angle, that is your brief. When your own winner and a long-running competitor ad share one, that is your first test.
How do I turn references into a creative brief?
Keep it to one page. The brief exists so whoever makes the ad, a designer, a creator or an AI tool, can start without a meeting.
| Field | What to write |
|---|---|
| Objective | What the ad must do: sales, leads, traffic |
| Audience | Who it is for, in plain words, and what they already believe |
| Angle | The one reason to care, taken from your references |
| Hooks | Three to five opening lines or first shots to test |
| Format and aspect | For example a 15 s UGC-style video in 9:16 |
| Script | Scene by scene, short |
| References | The saved ads, with your note on what to borrow from each |
Write several hooks for one angle rather than one hook each for several angles. It keeps the test readable: when one ad wins, you know which part won. Our guide to testing creatives on a small budget covers how many to launch.
How does this work in Tempomat?
The same steps, with the collecting and sorting done for you. Each page is in the sidebar under Plan.
- Discovery. Tempomat suggests keywords from your brand and products. Pick the sources (Facebook ads, TikTok, competitor stores) and countries, and scan: 5 credits per source, shown on the button. Every scan is kept in a history with what was new.
- Competitor Ads. Add a competitor with their Facebook Page, TikTok handle and website. The dossier shows their active ads, the longest-running one, and their store's traffic. Ads are shown with days running as the main figure.
- Your own winners. Ask in chat for your top ads by ROAS, or run the "Winning ads analysis" template.
- Swipe File. Save references from any of these, add tags and notes, then select several and click Create brief from selected (1 credit).
- Creative Strategist. Give it a goal, a product and an audience, pick Swipe File references, and it writes briefs into the Brief Queue (1 credit per brief).
Text from competitor ads is treated as data, never as instructions to the AI, so an ad that says "ignore your rules" changes nothing. From the Brief Queue, a brief goes to Creative Studio for images and videos, or to UGC Avatars for a presenter video. The features page lists every step, and what a credit buys lists the costs.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Facebook Ad Library free to use?
Yes. Meta says anyone can view and search the Ad Library, for any term, name or Page. You don't need an ad account to browse it.
Can I see a competitor's results in the Ad Library?
No. You see the creative, the text, the advertiser and when the ad started delivering. Meta's Ad Library API documents spend ranges as available only for political and issue ads, so for a product ad, how long it has been running is the closest signal you get.
How many reference ads should a creative brief have?
Five to ten is enough to see a pattern. Fewer and you are copying one ad; more and the brief loses its point.
Is it legal to copy a competitor's ad?
Don't copy it. Use references for their structure, such as the hook, the angle and the format, and make your own creative with your own product, footage and words.
Scan the market, save what keeps running, and turn it into a brief in one click.
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