13 Types of Video Advertising (and When to Use Each)
The 13 types of video advertising in 2026, each with what it is, when to use it, and a real named ad that shows it working, from skippable pre-roll to CTV, shoppable, playable, and live shopping.
There are really only about a dozen types of video advertising worth knowing, and the mistake I watch marketers make is picking a format because it is trendy rather than because it fits the job. A six-second bumper and a shoppable livestream are both “video ads,” but one is a reminder and the other is a checkout, and briefing the wrong one wastes the whole budget. Below are the thirteen formats that matter in 2026, what each one actually is, when to reach for it, and a real ad that shows it working. I work at Moonb, where we usually cut one shoot into several of these at once, so I have seen which formats earn their keep and which just look modern in a deck.
The quickest way to choose is by funnel stage and by where attention already is. Awareness formats buy reach and memory; consideration formats reward people who opt in; conversion formats put the action inside the ad. Keep that in mind as you read, and match the format to the decision your viewer is trying to make.
1. In-stream skippable (YouTube TrueView)
Pre-roll or mid-roll video the viewer can skip after five seconds, where you generally pay only when someone watches thirty seconds or engages.
- When to use it: storytelling and consideration at scale, when you want broad reach but only want to pay for interested viewers.
- Real example: Volvo Trucks’ The Epic Split with Van Damme ran as skippable pre-roll, and the hook was strong enough that most viewers chose not to skip. GEICO’s Unskippable did the opposite trick, front-loading the entire joke into the first five seconds so the skip button did not matter.
2. In-stream non-skippable
A fifteen to twenty second in-stream video with no skip button, sold on a cost-per-thousand basis for guaranteed completion.
- When to use it: when the full message has to land intact, such as a launch, a promo window, or a claim-heavy message.
- Real example: fifteen-second cutdowns of Snickers’ You’re Not You When You’re Hungry work here because the setup and payoff fit cleanly inside a forced fifteen seconds.
3. Bumper (6 seconds)
A six-second non-skippable video, priced on a cost-per-thousand basis and built for frequency and memory.
- When to use it: as a reminder and reach layer on top of a longer campaign. One product, one message, one line.
- Real example: Samsung’s Galaxy S8 Infinity Display bumper topped YouTube’s first bumper leaderboard by showing the screen expand twice with a single call to action in six seconds.
4. Out-stream (in-article)
Video that plays inside editorial content or a feed rather than before another video, auto-playing muted and expanding as you scroll.
- When to use it: buying attention on premium publisher sites beyond YouTube, especially for brand lift on mobile web.
- Real example: Nestlé ran Coffee Mate and Nescafé as in-read out-stream units, sliding video into article bodies with the sound off until a reader taps.
5. In-feed / discovery
A thumbnail plus text ad in YouTube search, Home, and Watch Next, where the viewer clicks to play, so every view is opt-in.
- When to use it: consideration and how-to intent, when you want people actively choosing to watch rather than being interrupted.
- Real example: GoPro leans on click-worthy hero clips surfaced in feed and search, where a strong thumbnail earns the click into a demo-style watch.
6. OTT / CTV (connected TV)
Video served in streaming apps on a TV screen (Hulu, Roku, YouTube on TV, ad-tier Netflix), mostly non-skippable and TV-quality.
- When to use it: reaching cord-cutters with television-scale reach plus digital targeting and measurement.
- Real example: Škoda’s Enyaq electric-vehicle CTV campaign reached roughly 74,000 TV households and drove qualified site visits, a sign of CTV moving past pure awareness into action.
7. Social vertical (Reels, TikTok, Shorts)
Full-screen nine-by-sixteen short video native to the feed, sound on, designed to look like organic content rather than an ad.
- When to use it: reaching younger audiences and sparking culture and user-generated content. It needs native creative, not a broadcast spot squeezed vertical.
- Real example: e.l.f. Cosmetics’ #eyeslipsface on TikTok, built around a custom fifteen-second track, drew more than 3.5 million user videos and over five billion views. Our roundup of Instagram video ad examples shows what strong vertical creative looks like up close.
8. Shoppable / interactive
Video with tappable elements, product carousels, or branching paths, so the viewer can act, buy or choose, inside the ad itself.
- When to use it: lower-funnel commerce through shoppable feeds, or deep engagement through interactive branching, when you want the click and not just the view.
- Real example: Honda’s The Other Side let viewers press R to flip between a school-run film and an art-heist film, a Cannes-winning interactive piece; its 2026 commerce sibling is shoppable product feeds running on CTV.
9. Playable
A short interactive mini-game inside the ad, usually on mobile, letting people try before they install or buy.
- When to use it: app installs and games, where hands-on interaction predicts intent far better than a passive view.
- Real example: Playrix’s Homescapes and Gardenscapes pull-the-pin playable ads are the notorious archetype, so widely copied that UK regulators banned some for not matching the actual match-3 game, a reminder to keep playables truthful.
10. Native / in-content
Video matched to the form and feel of the surrounding content, delivered through recommendation platforms like Taboola and Outbrain or in social feeds.
- When to use it: storytelling and consideration where an obvious ad gets tuned out. Content-first and soft-sell.
- Real example: Babbel runs explainer-style videos natively across article feeds and social, teaching a mini-lesson so the unit reads as something useful rather than an interruption.
11. In-game and rewarded
Ads inside games, from branded worlds and intrinsic in-game placements to opt-in rewarded video where players watch for an in-game reward.
- When to use it: reaching gamers. Rewarded video for completed, opt-in views and performance; brand worlds for deep engagement.
- Real example: Nike’s Nikeland on Roblox drew more than 40 million visits, the landmark brand-world placement; rewarded video in mobile games is its performance counterpart.
12. YouTube Masthead
A premium reserved video ad at the top of the YouTube Home feed for a day or by the hour, delivering enormous one-day reach.
- When to use it: big-moment launches, a film, a product, a tentpole event, when you need to own the audience on a single day.
- Real example: Netflix took over the YouTube homepage with a Masthead to launch Stranger Things Season 4 and drive same-day tune-in.
13. Live shopping (shoppable livestream)
Real-time hosted video where viewers buy as they watch, on TikTok Live, Amazon Live, or Walmart Live.
- When to use it: launches, drops, and demos that need urgency. Strongest for beauty, fashion, collectibles, and impulse categories.
- Real example: Walmart Live runs influencer and celebrity-hosted shoppable streams, and its collectibles series shows the format going weekly and category-specific.
The 13 formats in one table
| Format | Best for | Real example |
|---|---|---|
| In-stream skippable | Reach + consideration, pay for interest | Volvo, The Epic Split |
| In-stream non-skippable | Guaranteed full message | Snickers, You're Not You |
| Bumper (6s) | Frequency and memory | Samsung Galaxy S8 |
| Out-stream | Brand lift on publisher sites | Nestlé, in-read units |
| In-feed / discovery | Opt-in, how-to intent | GoPro hero clips |
| OTT / CTV | TV reach with targeting | Škoda Enyaq |
| Social vertical | Younger audiences, culture | e.l.f. #eyeslipsface |
| Shoppable / interactive | Action inside the ad | Honda, The Other Side |
| Playable | App installs and games | Playrix Homescapes |
| Native / in-content | Soft-sell storytelling | Babbel explainers |
| In-game and rewarded | Gamers, opt-in views | Nike Nikeland |
| YouTube Masthead | One-day launch reach | Netflix, Stranger Things |
| Live shopping | Urgency and commerce | Walmart Live |
How to pick without overthinking it
Start with the job, not the format. If the goal is memory, the six-second bumper and skippable pre-roll do the heavy lifting. If the goal is a considered watch, in-feed and native reward people who chose to press play. If the goal is a sale, shoppable, playable, and live shopping put the action inside the unit. CTV sits across all three now, which is why it is the format most teams are shifting budget into. For a deeper look at how ad creative is built rather than placed, our guide to video ad formats and the digital marketing video ad examples roundup are the next reads.
The format is only half the decision. The creative inside it decides whether any of this works, and a strong idea in a modest format still beats a dull one in a premium slot. Liquid Death built an entire beverage brand on video ads people actually choose to watch, which is the real lesson sitting under every format above.
Frequently asked questions
Match the runtime to the slot. A bumper is fixed at six seconds. For skippable in-stream and most social, 15 to 30 seconds carries a full idea while respecting how fast people move. Non-skippable tops out at 60 seconds, but I rarely go past 20 because forced attention curdles fast. CTV plays comfortably at 15 to 30 seconds since the viewer is settled and the sound is on. When a placement lets you run long, that is permission, not an instruction.
Two seconds, and on a muted social feed closer to one. Skippable in-stream hands people a skip button at the five-second mark, so the value has to be visible before they reach for it. I front-load the payoff: show the product, the person, or the promise in the opening frames rather than opening on a logo sting or a slow establishing shot. If the first second is a title card, you have already spent your most valuable moment on nothing.
One shoot, many cuts, as long as you plan for it before the camera rolls. Frame with a portrait-first eye and keep the subject centered so the same footage survives a 9:16 crop for social, a 4:5 feed version, and a 16:9 CTV or in-stream cut. The edits still differ per placement, since a six-second bumper and a 30-second in-stream spot are different builds, but they can share one production day. Deciding placements after the shoot is what forces reshoots.
