Benchmark
Creative diversity benchmarks for DTC brands on Meta, October 2026
How many different ads does a DTC brand really run on Meta?
Fewer than it looks. The typical DTC brand's 12 most-seen Meta ads add up to 6 distinct concepts, aimed at 2 personas. A third run 4 or fewer. Andromeda rewards variety across persona, angle and format, so most brands are paying for reach with the same few ads.
- 5.8 concepts per brand out of its 12 most-seen ads (median 6). A concept is one persona, angle and format combination. 34% of brands have 4 or fewer.
- 2.5 personas per brand. 57% speak to 2 or fewer.
- 4.0 formats out of 18. 57% let one format fill half their top ads.
- 27% of most-seen ads are product shots with no copy. Fashion: 51%.
- 51% of brands have no proof ad (UGC, testimonial, social proof or before and after) in their top 12. UGC is 4% of all ads.
- Wellness is the most varied category (7.1 concepts, 3.6 personas). Fashion is the least (4.4 concepts, 2.1 angles).
Benchmarks by category, as of October 14, 2026
| Category | Brands | Concepts | Personas | Angles | Formats | 2 or fewer personas | No-copy product shots | No proof ad |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All DTC | 148 | 5.8 | 2.5 | 3.3 | 4.0 | 57% | 27% | 51% |
| Beauty | 30 | 6.4 | 2.8 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 53% | 24% | 37% |
| Pet | 37 | 5.1 | 1.3* | 3.2 | 3.9 | 92%* | 28% | 49% |
| Home | 20 | 6.1 | 2.7 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 50% | 22% | 55% |
| Food & Beverage | 18 | 6.0 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 28% | 21% | 67% |
| Fashion | 17 | 4.4 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 3.2 | 71% | 51% | 71% |
| Wellness | 16 | 7.1 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 4.8 | 25% | 20% | 38% |
| Fitness | 10 | 5.3 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 3.9 | 30% | 27% | 50% |
Method
Source: Meta Ad Library, classified by SelfMade. For each brand we took its 12 most-seen active ads and classified each one with Claude into 18 formats, 50 persona types and 16 angle categories. A concept is a unique persona, angle and format combination. We kept brands in 7 DTC categories with all 12 ads classified: 148 brands, 1,776 ads, refreshed July 14 to October 14, 2026. No brand names. Updated monthly.
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