Swipe file BFCM 2026 Meta ads Static formats

Top static ad formats for BFCM 2026

I sorted the BFCM static ads I'd saved by visual format instead of by brand: the "we're sorry" text ad, the AirDrop, the Notes screenshot, the sticky note, the ugly-text ad and more. There are about 20 formats on one Figma board, each with several real examples, and I'm sharing it as a shortcut for planning your BFCM 2026 creative.

Amais Bajwa Amais Bajwa Fractional growth lead 15 Oct 2026 ~20 formats Several examples each

Why sort by format

A brand-by-brand swipe file tells you what one company ran. Sorting by format shows you the same idea working for different products and price points, which makes it much easier to brief. You stop asking "what did Brand X do?" and start asking "which of these could we make by Friday?"

Most of these formats are cheap to produce. A lot of them look deliberately low-effort, like a phone screenshot or a handwritten note, which is part of why they stand out in a feed full of polished sale banners.

The formats on the board

Each one has its own cluster of examples, labelled with a sticky note:

  1. Ugly "slop" font
  2. AI slop font
  3. AI slop font on the body copy
  4. Sticky notes
  5. Notes app & social posts
  6. AirDrop
  7. AI answer (for a Q&A angle)
  8. Whiteboard
  9. Receipt of hero SKUs
  10. Split screen
  11. "Sensitive content" format
  12. Image grid
  13. Billboards
  14. Gifts & sets
  15. Price breakdown
  16. Milestones & case studies
  17. Boxing Day
  18. Last call
  19. Volume offers (buy more, save more)

Further along the board there's also a planning table of 25 formats, with what each one looks like, its angle (offer, proof, native or story), the stage it suits best and the effort to make it. Next to it are wireframes showing how several of those formats could look for a made-up skincare brand.

The board is right below. Underneath it are a few notes on how I'd use it.

The board · scroll and zoom inside the frame Open full screen in Figma ↗

How I'd use it

  1. Pick formats by stage, not by taste. The table on the board marks each format for cold traffic, retargeting or the run-up to the sale. Fill each stage before you add a second idea to any one of them.
  2. Make one format in your own brand before you make five. Take your best-selling product and your actual offer, and build it in the format that looks easiest. If it works, the rest go faster.
  3. Plan the formats across the whole sale. An early-access teaser before it starts, offer formats while it's live, then a last-call ad for the final hours. Boxing Day gets its own slot if you sell into Canada or the UK.

One caveat. A format that worked for another brand is a hypothesis for yours, not a result. Use the board for ideas, then let your own account decide which formats stay in rotation.

Pass it on

If this saves you a creative brainstorm, send it to whoever is making your BFCM ads this year.