Native advertising examples: 10 ads that blend into the feed
Ten native ads: four from ad libraries and Pinterest, from a creator partnership on Meta to a promoted Pin and a LinkedIn report ad, and six ad designs that borrow a phone screen. What each one copies from its surroundings, how it is labeled, and what to test first.
Marián Cabadaj
8 min read
Short answer: native advertising is a paid ad that takes the shape of the place where it runs, such as a post in a feed, a Pin, a recommended article or a sponsored listing. It still carries a label like "Sponsored" or "Promoted". The best native ads below copy the format of the platform and keep the label in plain view.
People scroll past ads that look like ads. A native ad takes the look of the feed and keeps the honest part, the label. Four of the examples below are real ads that we pulled from Meta's and LinkedIn's public ad libraries and from Pinterest on November 1, 2026. Six are static ads that Selzee made for brands and that borrow the look of a phone screen. They are shown in our public ad gallery. The ad libraries show no sales data, so we give the start date of each ad and never say that it won.
What counts as native advertising?
A native ad matches the design, the place and the behavior of the content around it. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) names three core types in its Native Advertising Playbook 2.0 (IAB, May 2019): in-feed or in-content ads, content recommendation ads, and branded or native content. The playbook counts promoted listings on shopping sites as in-feed ads. It also says that all three types "must include a disclosure" that tells the reader the content is paid. What this means for a DTC brand: a sponsored post on Instagram and a promoted product on a marketplace are both native ads, and both need the label.
| Native ad type (IAB) | Where you see it | What it copies | Example below |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-feed, social | Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok | A normal post from an account | Jackson Galaxy, Apukka, HubSpot |
| In-feed, commerce | Shopping results and marketplaces | A product listing | Sephora on Pinterest |
| Content recommendation | "Recommended for you" links under articles | A headline and a thumbnail | Taboola and Outbrain units |
| Branded content | A publisher's site | A full article | See our advertorial examples |
| Native-style creative | Any feed | A phone screen, a chat, a note | Kalshi, Quinn Marketing, BradyID |
The IAB playbook does not list the last row. It is a design choice: a regular image ad that borrows an interface people trust. We include it because it is the cheapest way for a small brand to get the native effect.
Our articles are still written by HUMANS! Get human written articles in your Google feed.
Add as preferred sourceWhich native ads run in social feeds right now?
The first three ads below show the main social shapes: a creator speaking for the brand, a brand post that reads like a short article, and a B2B post that offers a report. Each card keeps "Sponsored" or "Promoted" under the account name.
The creator partnership: Jackson Galaxy for Litter-Robot
Cat behaviorist Jackson Galaxy runs an ad from his own page. The text opens with a personal story about automatic litter boxes, then names the deal: "I've partnered with Whisker, the makers behind it." The photo shows him on a rug next to a Litter-Robot 4, and the headline is "Litter-Robot x Jackson Galaxy". The ad started running on June 2, 2026.
What to copy: the creator tells the story in their own voice, and the partnership is in the first two lines. The reader knows who pays before they reach the photo. Our partnership ads guide covers how to set these up on Meta.
The post that sends you to an article: Apukka Resort
Apukka Resort Rovaniemi runs a list post: "Six reasons why people travel to Lapland in Autumn." The ad shows only the first reason, northern lights, and then links to the full article on its own site. The photo is a plain autumn shot of the resort's cabins, and the button says "Learn More" under "Read the article." The ad started running on May 30, 2025 and was still active in November 2026.
What to copy: the ad gives one reason away and holds back five. The ad sells the click, and the article does the selling, which is the same job an advertorial landing page does for a product.
The B2B report: HubSpot on LinkedIn
HubSpot's LinkedIn ad, marked "Promoted", leads with a finding: "Cautious teams keep AI on low-risk work." The image is a single big number, 62%, from a report HubSpot made with Aptitude 8, with a "Download Now" button drawn into the image. LinkedIn's Ad Library lists it as a single image ad paid for by HubSpot, Inc.
What to copy: the image looks like a slide from the report. A number that is new to the reader is the hook. If you sell to businesses, a report is the native format that LinkedIn readers expect.
The promoted Pin: Sephora and Dior Lip Glow Oil
Sephora's Pins of single products look like any other product Pin: a clean photo on white and the product name. The link of this Pin ends in the tag om_mmc=paid_social_Pinterest_DPA, so Sephora tracks it as a paid dynamic product ad from its catalog. On Pinterest, a paid Pin carries an ad label, and it sits in the same grid as the Pins people save. Our Pinterest marketing strategy post covers how brands mix organic and paid Pins.
What to copy: on a visual platform, the product photo is the ad. A clean shot on white blends in better than a designed banner, because it looks like the Pins next to it.
What do native-style ad designs borrow from the screen?
A native-style design borrows an interface that people read every day, such as a chat, a note, a call or a notification. The ad still runs as a normal, labeled image ad. The eye stops because the shape is familiar, and the copy has to pay off the moment the reader sees it is an ad. The six designs below are static ads Selzee made for these brands. We show them for the format, and we have no results data for them.
| Borrowed interface | Brand | What the reader expects | The risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chatbot answer | Kalshi, AITHIMETRY | A neutral answer | The answer reads like a sales pitch |
| Forum thread | The Point Labs | A real question from a user | A fake user voice |
| Notes app | Quinn Marketing | A private list | Too much text at phone size |
| Phone alert | SmashVision | Something new for me | Annoyance if it looks like a real alert |
| Incoming call | BradyID | Someone is calling | The same, plus platform rules on fake buttons |
The chat answer: Kalshi and AITHIMETRY
The Kalshi ad is drawn as a chatbot screen. The question is "will the fed cut rates next week", and the answer explains that traders on Kalshi price a hold at 88% for the October 28 decision. The AITHIMETRY ad below uses the same frame for a B2B question about AI governance.
What to copy: put the question your buyer types into a search box at the top. The answer is your pitch, so keep it to three or four lines.
The forum thread and the notes app
The Point Labs ad looks like a post in r/urbanplanning with a reply from the brand's own account. The account name is the brand, so nobody is pretending to be a customer. Quinn Marketing uses a notes app instead: a title, "Service business owners: need more leads?", and a price list that ends with "Quinn Marketing audit: FREE".
What to copy: write the note the way your buyer would write it to themselves. Quinn's list prices each step of a sale, so the free audit at the end feels like a gift.
The alert and the call
SmashVision puts its message in an alert box over a wall of repeated text: "Saturday's opponent. Their last five matches are online." BradyID draws an incoming call screen with an "Accept" button under the line "Clear, current facility labels are calling...".
What to copy: keep the joke obvious. Meta's advertising policy checklist tells advertisers to avoid images that "portray non-existent functionality", such as a play button that plays nothing (Meta Business Help Center, Advertising Policy Basics Checklist). What this means for a DTC brand: an alert or a call must read as a drawing of one, never as a real system message, or the ad gets rejected. A wall of text behind the box, like SmashVision's, makes that clear.
Where else do native ads run?
Outside social feeds, native ads run in three more places. None of them needs a new creative style, but each has its own rules.
- Content recommendation units. These are the "Recommended for you" or "Sponsored links" boxes under news articles, sold by networks such as Taboola and Outbrain. The ad is a headline and a thumbnail that links to an article, so the copy reads like a headline. Most DTC brands send this traffic to an advertorial page before the product page.
- Sponsored listings. A promoted product in a search result or on a marketplace looks like the organic results next to it. The product photo and the title do all the work, which is why they follow the same rules as your product photography.
- Branded content on a publisher. A full article that the brand pays for, written with or by the publisher's team. Our advertorial examples post covers the best-known ones, from The New York Times to Michelin.
How do you label a native ad so it stays legal?
In the US, the Federal Trade Commission's guide for businesses says that a disclosure, when one is needed, must be "clear and prominent" (FTC, Native Advertising: A Guide for Businesses, December 2015). The guide says readers are most likely to notice a disclosure placed "immediately in front of or above a native ad's headline". It also gives an example of an in-feed ad that readers would take for an independent story. What this means for a DTC brand: the platform label covers the ad itself, but your landing page and any article it links to need their own label at the top.
Three checks before an ad goes live:
- The platform label is there. Every ad card above shows "Sponsored" or "Promoted". Never crop the label out of a screenshot of your own ad.
- The voice is honest. A creator speaks for themselves only when they really use the product. A forum-style ad is posted by the brand's account, never by a made-up user.
- The click delivers. An ad that promises an article must open an article. An ad that promises a free audit must offer one.
How do you test a native ad?
Test the native version against your best regular ad, with the same offer and the same audience. Change one thing: the frame. A chat screen against a product photo, or a creator's photo against a studio shot. On Meta, give each ad set about 50 optimization events in 7 days before you compare them, because Meta says an ad set needs about that many to exit the learning phase (Meta Business Help Center, About the learning phase).
Before you spend, check how the ad looks in a real feed frame. Drop your image into the mockup below and add your primary text.
Upload picture
Shape
Edit the ad
Facebook Ad Mockup Generator: the full tool, with the benchmarks and the FAQ
Add to Chrome
How Selzee makes native-style ads
Selzee finds the ad formats that are trending in your market right now, including the native-style ones like chat screens, notes and forum threads, and recreates them for your brand with your logo, colors, fonts and products. Every ad comes with the angle and the insight it is built on. You approve the ones you like and ship them to Meta Ads, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok in 1 click, and new ads come every day.
Selzee makes static image ads. It does not make creator videos or run publisher placements such as Taboola. See how it works on the AI ad generation page.
Native advertising examples: FAQ
What is an example of native advertising?
A sponsored post on Instagram or Facebook is the most common example: it looks like a normal post and carries a "Sponsored" label. Jackson Galaxy's post for Litter-Robot and Apukka Resort's "Six reasons" post are two that ran in 2026. Selzee makes native-style static ads for your brand.
What are the three types of native advertising?
The IAB names in-feed or in-content ads, content recommendation ads, and branded or native content. Promoted listings on shopping sites count as in-feed ads. Selzee makes the in-feed ads for your brand.
Is a sponsored post on social media native advertising?
Yes. A sponsored post matches the look of the feed and carries the platform's label, which is the definition of an in-feed native ad. Selzee ships approved ads to Meta, Pinterest and TikTok in 1 click.
What is the difference between native advertising and an advertorial?
An advertorial is one kind of native ad: the full article. A native ad in a feed often links to an advertorial page, as Apukka's post links to its article. Selzee makes the feed ads that send readers to your page.
Do native ads need to be labeled?
Yes. The FTC says a needed disclosure must be clear and prominent, ideally in front of or above the headline. Every major platform adds its own "Sponsored" or "Promoted" label to paid posts. Selzee lets you approve every ad before it ships.
The short version
Pick one native frame that your buyer already trusts: a creator, a short article, a report, a product Pin or a chat screen. Keep the label in view, make the click deliver what the ad promises, and test it against your best regular ad.
If you want native-style ads made for your brand every day, see how Selzee works.