New Advertising Features Introduced for Threads by Meta Platforms
What’s Happening?
Meta has updated its Threads platform with new types of ads and improved creative support. These changes are designed to help businesses advertise more effectively on Threads. (BMI)
What Are the Key Updates?
Here are the major changes:
- Advantage+ Catalogue Ads
- Carousel Ad Format
- A carousel ad lets you show multiple images (or items) in one ad. It’s a good way to display several products or messages in a single ad unit. (BMI)
- Meta introduced carousel support earlier (on October 6) for Threads. (BMI)
- Some advanced functions like placement customisation & dynamic media aren’t available yet for carousel placements. (BMI)
- Image and Video Aspect Ratio Updates
- For image ads: The supported aspect ratio (shape of image) is now 4:5 (taller than wide). If an uploaded image is larger/taller, it gets cropped and centred vertically. (BMI)
- For video ads: Already supported since August 15; videos between 1.91:1 (wide) and 9:16 (very tall) are supported. If a video is taller than 4:5, it’s adjusted to fit. (BMI)
- On August 15, Meta introduced Placement Asset Customisation (PAC) so advertisers can adapt their existing creative assets (images/videos) for Threads. But carousel formats don’t yet work with PAC. (BMI)
- Ads Roll-out & API Enhancements
- Meta began testing ads on Threads in January 2025 with a limited set of advertisers; they reported that Threads had already crossed 300 million monthly active users, with many following business accounts. (BMI)
- Global rollout followed in April. Meta also added AI-powered inventory filters (to keep ads away from sensitive or undesired content). (BMI)
- The Threads API (developer interface) has seen many additions during 2024-25: things like posting functionality, support for GIFs (added Oct 17), polls, topic tags, etc. (BMI)
- Ad Specification Details
Why This Matters
- For advertisers, Threads is increasingly becoming a useful platform to reach users — especially since it’s part of the Meta ecosystem and integrates with Instagram/Facebook campaigns.
- The “catalogue” type ads reduce manual work: once you link your product catalogue, the system picks and shows relevant products to users likely to buy. That means you can scale up faster.
- Carousel ads are great because they engage more: showing several product images or messages tends to attract more attention than a single static ad.
- The updated image/video specifications mean you’ll need to check your creative assets (images/videos) so they fit properly and show up well on Threads.
- If you’re already running campaigns on Meta’s platforms (Facebook, Instagram), you might now more easily extend them to Threads — possibly using the same creative assets (with some tweaks).
What to Keep in Mind / Tips for Advertisers
- Update your product catalogue: Ensure all your products have good images, correct pricing, titles, etc., because the Advantage+ catalogue ads will rely on these.
- Prepare image assets in 4:5 ratio (for now) so they display properly without cropping issues.
- Test carousel formats: Show a series of products or messages in one ad — see what the best combination is.
- Don’t count on all features yet: Some advanced options (e.g., dynamic media in carousel, full set of call-to-actions) are not yet supported on Threads.
- Make sure your ad text is clean: No hashtags or URLs inside the ad text (since those aren’t supported). Headline must be ≤ 40 characters; primary text 80-160.
- Monitor placement & brand safety: Even though Threads uses Meta’s infrastructure, making sure your ads don’t show alongside inappropriate content is still important. Use inventory filters if available.
- Leverage your existing Meta campaigns: If you already have ads running on Facebook or Instagram, see if you can extend them to Threads (using the same creative where possible) — this saves work.
- Keep an eye on updates: Meta is continuing to roll out new features, so staying updated will help you use the platform to its full potential.
Final Thoughts
If you’re a business or advertiser looking to reach more people, especially on mobile and social, then using Threads makes sense — the platform is growing and now supports richer ad formats. The new catalogue and carousel ad options give you more flexibility and automation, which can save time and effort. At the same time, you’ll want to make sure your creative assets (images/videos and ad text) are optimized for the platform to get the best results.