Reddit Free-Form Ads

Connect with your audience authentically and effectively with free-form ads on Reddit – a unique format designed to fit seamlessly into the Reddit experience.
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‍Use text, videos, and images for impactful storytelling. Whether launching a product or sharing your brand narrative, these ads can help increase brand awareness & foster community engagement.

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What is a free-form ad?

Free-form ads empower you to connect with your audience by providing a way to create quality content for redditors to dive deep into. This level of engagement can have a lasting positive impact on brand metrics, including increased purchase consideration or message association.

Use free-form ads to tell your story in a way that aligns with your goals, audience, and strategy – such as diving into the features of a new product, sharing expertise through a thought-leadership piece, or creating a shopping guide for key holiday moments.

With free-form ads, you can mix and match text, images, GIFs, videos, whatever suits your campaign goals best. It’s a format you won’t find anywhere else, giving you the space to communicate your content to a highly engaged audience already primed to spend more time and take action the way only Reddit can.

With easy-to-use tools directly in Ads Manager, you can seamlessly build your ad and be as creative as you want. And if you need inspiration, you can easily insert one of our templates into your ad to help you get started.

Pro tips for free-form ads

Make your free-form ad stand out with these pro tips:

Add images or GIFs to aid storytelling

Boost your ads’s impact by incorporating compelling visuals. Images and gifs grab attention and complement your narrative, making your content more memorable and shareable.

Add a TL;DR

Craft a concise Too Long; Didn’t Read (TL; DR) section to summarize key points. A TL;DR offers a quick overview, catering to those who prefer a brief preview before diving into the full megapost.

Add headings and breaks

Organize your free-form ad with clear headings and breaks. Structuring content improves readability and guides redditors through your narrative. A well-organized ad ensures readers can easily absorb information.

Cater to your audience

Tailor your ad to resonate with your target audience. Understand their preferences, language, and interests. Personalizing your content increases engagement and builds a connection with your community.

Use one of our templates to get started

Sometimes all you need are a few tips and tricks, and a pre-designed layout to spark your creative juices.

The Essentials

The perfect blend of informative and concise – this template is enough to get your message across even with limited creative resources. Add a few visuals, highlight the key points, and voila – you're good to go.

Product Deep Dive

Whether it's a sleek new beauty line, a groundbreaking tech gadget, or anything, this template breaks it down. Give Reddit’s audience the scoop, show what makes it special, and watch the buzz build.

Tell Your Story

Want to make your mark on Reddit? This template is your trusty guide to brand storytelling success. Introduce yourself, share your journey, and create a narrative, leaving redditors ready for more.

Free-form ads can help brands stand out

Explore the impact of free-form ads through real-world success stories and see how brands like yours have used this distinct format to stand out and engage their audience:

Best in class examples

Click to view the ads on Reddit and experience how free-form ads can be brought to life

CPG

Kraft Heinz

How to Keep Melty Cheese Off Of Your Gaming Keyboard

Learn how to eat melty squares of Kraft Singles cheese, while also keeping your keyboard mess-free in this fun activation.

Auto

Volvo

Volvo leads the charge to a safer future.

Learn about Volvo's dedication to protecting the planet through their shift to electric vehicles.

Retail

Athleta

Top 10 holiday gifts from Athleta (+ a bonus under-$30 stocking stuffer!)

Find the the perfect gift with Athleta's holiday focused product guide.

Tech

IBM

What is there to know about Machine Learning?

Learn all about machine learning with IBM's educational activation.

Retail

Ulta

[Routine Help] How to use the hottest new skincare ingredients

Educate yourself on popular new skincare ingredients with Ulta's guide.

Media & Entertainment

Asteroid City

EXPLORE WES ANDERSON’S “ASTEROID CITY”

Explore Wes Anderson's film and learn more about the characters & setting with this movie deep dive.

Success stories

See how our advertisers have reached (and exceeded!) their campaign goals by using Reddit unique strategies

LinkedIn embraces Reddit free-form ads to achieve brand lift

Kraft Heinz

Reddit helps Philadelphia Cream Cheese prove nothing is 'Unschmearable'

Mitsubishi Motors

Reddit unique strategy drives new users to Mitsubishi Motors website

Dell

Reddit unique strategy and teaser video deliver award-winner campaign for Dell

adidas

Surrounding redditors' where they are (in a good way) kicked these adidas' kicks into a new dimension (of performance)

Get your Reddit ads certification

We’ve introduced a series of easy-to-follow online courses to get you started on Reddit with a Fundamentals Certification Exam that will test your knowledge and make it official.

Whether you need help creating your first post or optimizing your campaign for success, Reddit Ads Formula can help you reach your goals and successfully integrate Reddit into your digital marketing strategy. Learn how to build awareness, drive consideration and increase your sales.

Get certified

Free-form ads: FAQ

What are the benefits of Reddit’s free-form ads?

Drive upper-funnel goals - The longer-form content helps educate redditors. Tap into an attentive audience to share thought leadership on a relevant topic or introduce a new product.
Endless creative possibilities - With our most flexible ad format you get to decide how to build your ad, from the types of creative to how long it is.
Deepen your brand affinity - Connect with our communities using a format that allows you to establish a voice on Reddit & drive meaningful engagement.
Uncover insights - With comments enabled, reveal consumer insights about products or services that would otherwise go unheard.

How are free-form ads different from other formats?

Free-form ads are inspired by the natural behaviors of redditors, helping your ad integrate seamlessly into the Reddit experience. This can foster positive engagement and connection, and with comments turned on, it can create authentic communication between brands and passionate redditors.

These ads also offer a blank canvas for creativity. Advertisers can experiment with diverse content types, including text, images, gifs, and videos. This flexibility fuels innovative storytelling and caters to various awareness and consideration goals.

What are the free-form ad specs?

Check out the help center to learn more about the ad specs and requirements for creating a free-form ad.

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