Ad creative brief template
An ad brief for AI tools adds clip length, reference images and the plan’s ad rights to the usual fields. Copy the template, fill one per concept, and hand it to whoever runs the tool.
AD CREATIVE BRIEF
- Product: what it is, one line, and the page it sells on
- Audience: who sees it, and how warm (cold, retargeting, existing customers)
- Offer: what the viewer gets and the call to action
- Hook: the first line or first two seconds, word for word
- Key message: the one thing the viewer should remember
- Proof: claims you can back, with the source for each
- Formats: each ad as aspect ratio + type (9:16 talking head, 1:1 static)
- Placements: where each format runs (Reels, Stories, TikTok feed, Shorts)
- Ad length: seconds per format, checked against the tool’s clip cap
- Script: the spoken lines, timed, under the tool’s script limit
- Reference images: product shots, packshots, style frames, with file names
- Avatar and voice: stock actor, custom avatar or none; voice, accent, language
- Tool and plan: which tool, which plan, credits this brief uses
- Ad rights: does this plan allow outputs in paid ads? (link the clause)
- Likeness consent: whose face or voice appears, and the consent on file
- AI label: the platform label or disclaimer each placement needs
- Versions: hooks or variants to make per format
- Deadline and owner: who approves, by when
Each field, and why AI tools need it
Agency templates stop at the audience and the message. These eight fields carry the limits an AI tool imposes, each tied to a vendor rule read on 2 October 2026.
| Field | Why the brief needs it |
|---|---|
| Ad length: seconds per format | Clip caps differ by tool: Veo 3.1 makes 4, 6 or 8 seconds, Kling 3.0 up to 15 and Seedance 2.5 up to 30. A 30-second script on Veo needs four clips stitched together |
| Aspect ratio: per placement | Veo 3.1 offers 9:16 and 16:9 only, so a 1:1 feed ad means a crop or another tool |
| Script: timed lines | Avatar tools bill by length: Arcads charges 800 credits per minute per actor and says length is “always rounded up” without stating the step, so time each script to the second |
| Reference image: file names | Image-to-video models build from the frames they are given; without product shots, a model may invent details of the product |
| Avatar and voice: actor and accent | A stock actor and a custom avatar sit on different plans and credit rates (HeyGen bills 4 to 48 credits a minute by avatar model) |
| Ad rights: the plan’s clause | 14 of 39 free plans in the rights matrix bar paid ads, and Kling’s non-member outputs must carry the Kling brand (terms 4.5) |
| Likeness consent: whose face | An AI actor can be a real person’s licensed likeness: if the actor withdraws consent, Arcads’ terms let it require the videos deleted wherever they run, with 100 euros owed per day of delay |
| AI label: per platform | Arcads’ terms 13.3.1 bar videos that require “compulsory information (e.g. sponsored content)”, and do not say whether an AI label counts. TikTok asks for a label on significantly AI-made ads |
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A filled example
The product below is fictional.
- Product: water-resistant dog collar, sold on its own product page
- Audience: dog owners, cold traffic, no prior visit
- Offer: order the collar; free returns
- Hook: “I stopped losing him at the park.”
- Key message: the collar survives rain, mud and the lake
- Proof: water-resistance rating from the maker’s spec sheet
- Formats: 9:16 talking head; 9:16 product demo; 1:1 static
- Placements: Reels and TikTok feed (9:16); Facebook feed (1:1)
- Ad length: talking head 20 s; demo 8 s clip x 2; static n/a
- Script: talking head, 48 words, hook in the first 2 s
- Reference images: collar_front.png, collar_wet.png, dog_park_style.jpg
- Avatar and voice: stock actor, casual US English, female, 30s
- Tool and plan: avatar tool for the talking head; video model for the demo
- Ad rights: paid plan on both tools; clause links pasted here
- Likeness consent: stock actor under the vendor’s licence; no real customer
- AI label: TikTok AI-generated label on; Meta AI info where applied
- Versions: 3 hooks on the talking head, 1 demo, 2 statics
- Deadline and owner: creative lead approves before upload
The demo splits into two 8-second clips because Veo’s cap is 8 seconds; on Seedance 2.5 it fits one generation.
Clip lengths and formats by tool
The length a tool makes in one generation decides where the script is cut.
| Tool | Length or billing per generation | What it means for the brief | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Veo | 4, 6 or 8 seconds (Veo 3.1 in Flow) | One shot per clip; plan the cuts | |
| Kling | 3 to 15 seconds (Kling 3.0) | A short ad in one clip | |
| Seedance | Up to 30 seconds (2.5), extendable twice | A full 30-second ad in one generation | |
| Hailuo | Up to 15 seconds (H3, 2K) | Two clips for a 30-second ad | |
| Runway | 60 credits per 5 seconds of video (Gen-4.5) | Plan shots in 5-second lengths | |
| HeyGen | Billed per minute; free plan videos up to 1 minute | Script length sets the credits | |
| Creatify | Up to 2 minutes on Starter; Veo 3 product clips 8 seconds | Avatar script and product shots on separate limits | |
| Arcads | 800 credits a minute per actor, length “always rounded up”, no step stated | Time the script to the second; a few seconds over can bill more |
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Checks before an AI ad runs
Ad rights first. A plan’s terms decide whether its outputs may run in paid ads. The rights matrix gives the reading for each plan with its clause.
Likeness next. An AI actor or a cloned voice belongs to someone, and the consent behind it can be withdrawn. The AI UGC legal guide covers testimonials, likeness and the contract clauses that price misuse.
Labels last. Meta, TikTok and Google each set their own rule, and the New York and California synthetic performer laws add one for ads that show a synthetic person. The AI ad disclosure rules lists each with its date.
Creative brief template for video ads and for agencies
A video brief adds a shot list, one line per clip with its length. It names who reads the voice-over: an avatar, a cloned voice or a person. And it lists the music with its licence for paid use.
An agency brief adds three more. Client approval names who signs off and at which stage. Usage term states how long the client may run the ad. Tool account says whose account generates the outputs: the plan’s licence goes to the account holder (Arcads 13.3.1 grants a “personal, non-transferable licence”).
A Meta ads brief writes placements as Meta names them: Feed, Stories, Reels. Pair each with its own format line, so one brief covers every placement the ad set runs. The creative testing framework covers how many variants a test can judge.
Sources
- Google DeepMind: Veo, Veo 3.1 clips of 4, 6 or 8 seconds in 9:16 or 16:9, marked with SynthID. Checked
- Kling AI: Kling 3.0 user guide, Kling 3.0 clips of 3 to 15 seconds. Checked
- Kling AI: Kling AI terms of service, section 4.5, non-members label outputs with the Kling brand or a generated by Kling AI notice. Checked
- ByteDance Seed: Seedance 2.5,
Create videos up to 30 seconds in a single generation, with the option to extend twice
. Checked - MiniMax: MiniMax H3, posted 31 July 2026; videos
up to 15 seconds at 2K resolution
, 768p as an option. Checked - Runway: Runway pricing, Gen-4.5 billed at 60 credits per 5 seconds of video. Checked
- HeyGen: How to use credits on HeyGen, avatar video billed per minute, 4 to 48 credits by avatar model. Checked
- Creatify: Creatify pricing, Starter videos up to 2 minutes; Veo 3 product clips capped at 8 seconds. Checked
- Arcads: Arcads terms, clause 13.3.1, videos that require
compulsory information (e.g. sponsored content)
. Checked - Arcads: How are credits counted, 800 credits per minute per actor;
Length is always rounded up
, with one example (1 min 45 s billed as 2 min) and no stated step. Checked - Arcads: Arcads terms, actor consent, if a Creator withdraws consent,
FRESHR may ask the Client to delete any Videos
, with 100 euros owed per day of delay; clause 13.3.1 grants apersonal, non-transferable licence
. Checked - TikTok Advertising Policies: Misleading and false content, section Edited media and AI-generated content (AIGC): the AIGC label or a disclaimer for significantly AI-made ads. Checked
What changed on this page
- Page written.
Alexandre S.
Alexandre S. is a creative strategist and copywriter with ten years in content and SEO. He writes and edits short-form ads, works in English and French, and reads the pricing and terms pages behind every tool on this site before anything is written about it.
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