What this search shows
Hermoso matches your search to the brand's Facebook page and reads the ads Meta publicly discloses for it. One brand on Meta reaches several places at once: Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Threads and the Audience Network apps. Each result card carries the creative, the ad copy, the call to action button, the platforms the ad was booked on, its start date and the number of days it has been running.
The order matters more than anything else on the page. Results come back longest running first, because Meta shares no spend or results for ordinary commercial ads. Run length is the public signal left over: an ad that loses money gets paused within days, so one still live after a quarter is one the brand keeps choosing to fund. We explain the reasoning, and its exceptions, in why run length works as a winner signal.
Ways marketers use it
- Before a creative sprint. Search the three brands you lose customers to and read only the top ten cards of each. Those are the concepts you are up against in the feed this month.
- Checking a format bet. Thinking of moving budget into video or carousels? See whether the long runners in your category are video, static or carousel before you brief anything.
- Spotting offer patterns. Read the button and the first line of copy across the long runners. "Shop now" with a discount in line one tells a different story from "Learn more" pointing at a quiz.
- Placement clues. The platform list shows whether a brand books its best ads everywhere or keeps some on Instagram only. That hints at where its buyers spend their time.
How to read the results
- Start at the top and stop early. The first handful of cards hold the ads with the most proof behind them. Anything a few days old near the bottom is a test, and the brand does not know yet whether it works.
- Look for repeats. When the same caption runs with different images, the brand is testing visuals against a line it already trusts. The line is the part worth writing down.
- Read the copy as a structure. Hook, proof, offer, button. Note the structure rather than the words, so your version ends up your own.
- Act on it. Keep the cards you like in a swipe file, or Clone one to remake it with your product, colours and voice.
From the same results, one click adds suggested competitors, and Ad Spy can bring in the same brand's ads from other libraries so you compare them side by side.
What it cannot tell you
There is no spend, reach or conversion data for regular brand ads. Meta only discloses those numbers for political and social issue ads, plus some reach figures for ads delivered in the EU. A long run is strong evidence, not proof: some awareness ads run for months on a fixed budget, and very large advertisers sometimes leave evergreen ads up out of habit.
Names can also collide. If a brand shares its name with another page, a common word or a person, search its website instead, like oatly.com. Hermoso uses the Instagram account the site links to as the tiebreaker, and when a name stays ambiguous it tells you so rather than showing you a different company's ads.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Meta Ad Library search free?
Yes. Search any brand for free and its ads come back sorted by how long each one has been running.
Which platforms are included?
Every Meta placement the brand books: Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Threads and the Audience Network. Each card lists the platforms that particular ad ran on.
Why longest running first instead of newest?
Because run length is the best public sign that an ad works. Brands switch off ads that lose money quickly, so an ad still live after months is one they keep paying for.
Can I see how much a competitor spends on Meta?
No. Meta does not disclose spend or results for ordinary commercial ads, only for political and social issue ads. Run length is the signal you get instead.
What if I get the wrong brand?
Search the brand's website instead of its name. Hermoso uses the Instagram account linked from that site to pick the right Facebook page, and says so when a name is still ambiguous.
What can I do with an ad I like?
Save it to your swipe file to build a reference board, or Clone it to remake the ad for your own brand with your product, colours and copy.
Hermoso turns what you find into finished ads and posts for your own brand, then runs your marketing on autopilot. Start free, 250+ earnable free credits, no card.
Start free → See pricing