How long should a UGC ad be?

As short as it can be and still show the product in use and make one ask. Cut anything the viewer wouldn't miss.

Does a UGC ad need to say it is an ad?

When the creator was paid or given the product, yes: mark it as an ad, with the platform's paid-partnership label where there is one.

How to make a UGC ad for a product

A UGC ad looks like a person telling a friend about a product. It works when it is short, specific and honest, and when the first seconds give a reason to keep watching.

The structure

Hook: the first line, the reason to stop scrolling.
Problem: what was wrong before, in the viewer's words.
The product in use: shown, not described.
The offer: a price, a discount or a reason to act now, only if it is real.
The ask: one clear thing to do.

The shot list

Talking takes to camera, each line said a few times, plus product shots: the product in the hand, opened, in use, and the result. Film more product shots than you think you need.

Write several hooks, and test them

The same body with different first lines often performs very differently. Film several hooks, make a version with each, and let the results decide.

Keep it short

Cut everything that doesn't move the viewer toward the ask. If a line can go without anyone missing it, it goes.

Rights and disclosure

Agree in writing with the creator where the ad may run, for how long, and whether you may edit it. When the creator was paid or given the product, the ad must say it is an ad; the platforms have their own paid-partnership labels for this.

Where ion fits, and where it doesn't

What ion does here

UGC: A creator recommends a product: several hooks, the product shots, the offer and the ask.
Footage: Upload every clip of the shoot: talking takes and product shots.
About the product: The product, the offer and what to ask viewers: ion builds the ad around them. Product or service · What it is, in one line · Benefits, one per line · Offer · Discount code · Call to action.
Text on screen, from the product's form: Only what you write here, as you wrote it, and what's said on camera shows up as text.
Paid partnership (when you mark it): Every version is marked as an ad, as the law asks.
What comes out: 3 versions with different hooks, up to 30 seconds each.
Consent: Before any edit you confirm: “Everyone who speaks in this video agreed to it being edited and published.” Required by law. Your confirmation is stored with the video.

Where ion isn't the tool

ion doesn't supply creators or actors: you film, or work with a creator yourself.
UGC versions don't open in the editor yet: watch and download them here.

Short answers

How long should a UGC ad be?: As short as it can be and still show the product in use and make one ask. Cut anything the viewer wouldn't miss.
Does a UGC ad need to say it is an ad?: When the creator was paid or given the product, yes: mark it as an ad, with the platform's paid-partnership label where there is one.

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Updated: 2026-11-01