Policy-Compliant Ad Creatives: How to Handle Claims, Before and After Images and Disclaimers

Many media buyers see creative requirements as a list of things that “kill conversion”. In practice an honest creative often performs just as well and lives longer: it is not rejected on every third launch, it does not attract complaints, and the account running it does not lose the platform's trust. This article covers ad creative policy principles shared by Meta, Google, TikTok and most other platforms, plus concrete replacements for the most common violations. Each platform words its rules differently and updates them, so always check its help center.

Why ad creatives get rejected

Almost every creative rejection comes down to a handful of reasons:

Each platform phrases these points in its own way; platform-by-platform breakdowns are in Facebook and Instagram advertising policies, Google Ads policies and TikTok advertising policies.

Claims: how to talk about results honestly

The main rule: promise what you can back up, and only what is typical for the product.

Notice that the acceptable versions describe the product and the process, not a result that depends on the person. That does not mean giving up on benefits. A benefit is convenience, speed, clarity, not a promise to change someone's life.

Tip. Before launch, read the creative out loud and ask yourself: “Could I show a document that proves this?” If not, rephrase it.

Numbers, timeframes and “free”

A closer look at the three kinds of claims creatives trip over most often.

Numbers. A number in a creative is a strong device, but it must be verifiable and typical. “Over 200 models in our catalog” is a checkable fact. “Our clients earn $3,000 a month on average” is a claim that will need proof, and in a finance vertical it will almost certainly be rejected.

Timeframes. “In 7 days”, “overnight”, “instantly” are fine for delivery or sign-up times and problematic when they refer to health, appearance or income results.

“Free”. If the product is only free for a trial period and a paid subscription follows, say so in or next to the creative, and show the price and the cancellation process on the page. Hidden subscriptions are one of the most common causes of both rejections and user complaints.

Before and after, and body image

Before and after comparisons are restricted or banned in weight loss, cosmetics, dentistry, cosmetic surgery and health on almost every platform. The ban covers not only two photos side by side but also:

• a photo of a person pointing at a “problem” body part;
• close-ups of skin, fat, wrinkles;
• images that mock someone's appearance;
• unrealistic results and edited images.

What to use instead:

• the product itself and how to use it;
• a person in a calm, positive setting without focusing on a “flaw”;
• information about ingredients, how it feels, how convenient it is;
• an even tone without shame or fear.

Personal attributes and addressing the user

The personal attributes rule is especially strict at Meta, but the idea is the same everywhere: an ad must not assert or imply that you know something about a person's health, finances, religion, sexual orientation, age or criminal record.

The telltale sign of a violation is “you” combined with a personal trait: “Do you suffer from insomnia?”, “Were you turned down for a loan?”. The fix is to talk about the topic: “How to improve your sleep: expert tips”, “Loans for different credit histories: terms on the website”.

Disclaimers and warnings

A disclaimer is a short note that clarifies the terms of a claim or warns about risks. You need one:

• in health and supplements: about contraindications and consulting a professional, and that the product is not a medicine;
• in finance: about risks, rates and fees;
• in gambling: about age limits and responsible gaming;
• in subscriptions and trials: about the price after the trial and how to cancel;
• in promotions: about the dates and terms of the discount.

Disclaimer requirements:

1. Readable: not tiny text at the edge of an image or half a second in a video.
2. Close by: next to the claim it refers to.
3. Clear: plain language, no legal fog.
4. Consistent with the site: the same terms on the landing page.

Example: rewriting a nutra creative

Say you have a joint cream offer, and the network's brief includes “doctors are shocked”, “gets rid of pain forever” and a photo of an elderly person clutching their knee. Each of the three elements is almost guaranteed to get the ad rejected. An honest version might look like this:

• Headline: “A warming cream for daily care”.
• Text: “Made with plant extracts. Apply a thin layer; absorbs quickly. Check the contraindications before use”.
• Image: the product on a table, or a person calmly applying the cream, with no grimace of pain.
• Page: ingredients, how to use it, seller contacts, delivery and return terms, and a note to consult a professional where required.

This creative sounds quieter, but it describes a real product, promises no cure and does not play on fear. That is exactly what ad review checks for.

Testimonials, celebrities and “news”

• Testimonials are allowed if they are real and the person agreed to their use. Made-up reviews and fake “customers” break platform policies and, in many countries, the law.
• Celebrities only with consent and under a contract. Fake interviews and “star reveals her secret” stories count as fraud on every major platform, and accounts get suspended for them immediately.
• News-style design: a creative that looks like an article from a well-known outlet, with its logo, is misleading and infringes rights. This comes up especially often in native advertising, where the ad already sits in a feed of articles.
• Doctors and experts only if they are real and entitled to make such a recommendation; “what doctors are hiding” and white coats without a real specialist will not pass.

Video: extra requirements

Video is reviewed frame by frame, and the audio too. Common mistakes in video creatives:

• A bait frame at the start: a shocking scene in the first seconds that has nothing to do with the product.
• A half-second disclaimer in small print at the end: technically present, practically unreadable.
• A system notification or ringtone sound that makes the user think it is their phone.
• A voiceover with claims that are not in the text: review listens, not just reads.
• Someone else's music without the rights to use it.

If a contractor makes your videos, give them the platform's requirements up front: reworking a finished video costs more than a short brief.

The creative and the landing page must match

Even a perfect creative will be rejected if the page behind it says something else. Check that:

• the product, price, terms and promotion on the page are the same as in the creative;
• the claims on the page are no stronger than in the ad;
• disclaimers appear in both the creative and on the page;
• the page has no timers that reset, fake comments or pop-ups that stop people from leaving.

If you are testing several page variants, all of them must follow the rules, not just the “main” one. How to set up a page split test is covered in split testing offers and landing pages.

How to test creatives without damaging the account

• Make genuinely different creatives, not variations of the same violation. If an ad is rejected, fix the cause rather than changing a couple of words and hoping it slips through. How to find that cause is covered in ad disapproved: what to do.
• Keep a library of approved wording. For each vertical and platform, a list of phrases that passed and ones that were rejected.
• Do not copy other people's creatives from spy tools as they are. They may break the rules and infringe someone's rights.
• Compare by money, not by CTR. A flashy creative with a high CTR can bring in the wrong audience. How to pick metrics is covered in affiliate marketing metrics, and the testing process itself in testing creatives and audiences.

ArtisanClo helps with exactly that money-based comparison: if the creative is passed in the link through a platform macro into a parameter, the reports show clicks, conversions, revenue and ROI for each parameter value. How to set it up is covered in UTM parameters and macros. More on what the product can do on the ArtisanClo features page.

Creative checklist before submitting for review

1. The claim can be backed up and is typical for the product.
2. No before and after, no close-ups of “problems”, no shaming of appearance.
3. No references to the person's personal attributes.
4. No shocking images or fearmongering.
5. No fake buttons, notifications or interfaces.
6. Celebrities, testimonials and experts are real and have given consent.
7. Disclaimers are readable and placed next to the claim.
8. The page matches the creative in product, price and terms.
9. The text is clean, without all caps or excessive punctuation.
10. The category is allowed on the platform in the target country.

Tip. Keep a short shared document with the rules for each platform and vertical: which wording passed, which was rejected and why. Within a couple of months it becomes the most useful tool for new buyers and for the contractors who make your creatives, and it cuts the number of rejections at launch.

The bottom line

A policy-compliant creative is an honest claim: no before and after, no pressure on insecurities or fears, a clear disclaimer, and a page that says the same thing. Such creatives are rejected less often, last longer and do not damage the account's history. Specific requirements differ by platform and change over time, so check the current version of the rules in the platform's help center before launch.