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Creative Protocol Overview

This guide explains how creatives work in AdCP, from defining format requirements to assembling and delivering ads.

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The Four Key Concepts

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1. Assets

The individual building blocks: images, videos, text, HTML, JavaScript, tracking URLs. Example: A product image, a headline, a 30-second video file, a VAST tag.

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2. Formats

Specifications that define what assets are required and how they should be assembled. Example: “video_30s” format requires a 30-second MP4 video file with specific dimensions and codec.

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3. Manifests

Packages that provide the actual assets to fulfill a format’s requirements. Example: A manifest for “video_30s” provides the URL to your actual 30-second video file, plus tracking pixels and landing page URL.

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4. Creative Agents

Services that:
  • Define and document formats (authoritative source)
  • Explain how to render each format
  • Validate manifests against format requirements
  • Generate previews showing how creatives will look
  • Optionally: build manifests from natural language briefs

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How They Fit Together

Format Definition (by Creative Agent)
  ↓
  "video_30s format requires:
   - One video file asset (MP4, 30s, 1920x1080)
   - One clickthrough URL"

Creative Manifest (by Buyer)
  ↓
  "Here's my actual video file:
   https://cdn.brand.com/spring_30s.mp4
   Landing page: https://brand.com/spring-sale"

Sales Agent (validates & delivers)
  ↓
  - Checks: Is this really 30 seconds? Is it MP4?
  - Adds: Impression tracking, click tracking
  - Delivers: Creative to ad server

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The Workflow

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1. Discovery - “What formats do you support?”

Buyers call list_creative_formats on sales or creative agents to discover available formats with full specifications. The agent_url field identifies the creative agent authoritative for each format. See Creative Formats for format discovery details.

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2. Assembly - “Here are my assets”

Buyers create manifests providing assets that fulfill format requirements. Manifests pair format specifications with actual asset URLs and content. See Creative Manifests for manifest structure details.

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3. Validation - “Does this match the requirements?”

Creative agents validate manifests:
  • Are all required assets provided?
  • Do they meet technical specs (duration, dimensions, file size)?
  • Are tracking macros formatted correctly?

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4. Delivery - “Traffic this to the ad server”

Sales agents deliver validated creatives to their ad servers, translating AdCP universal concepts to platform-specific formats.

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Core Concepts

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Assets & Asset Types

Assets are the raw materials. Each has a type that determines its purpose:
  • image: Static images (JPEG, PNG, WebP)
  • video: Video files (MP4, WebM) or VAST tags
  • audio: Audio files (MP3, M4A) or DAAST tags
  • text: Headlines, descriptions, CTAs
  • html: HTML5 creatives or third-party tags
  • javascript: JavaScript tags
  • url: Tracking pixels, clickthrough URLs, webhooks
See Asset Types for detailed specifications.

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Formats & Format Authority

Each format has an authoritative source - the creative agent that defines it (indicated by agent_url). That agent:
  • Hosts the definitive documentation
  • Explains how to assemble assets
  • Describes how the format renders
  • Provides validation rules
Standard vs. Custom Formats:
  • Standard formats are hosted by the reference creative agent (https://creative.adcontextprotocol.org) and based on IAB specifications
  • Custom formats are defined by individual publishers or creative platforms for specialized inventory
  • Technically, both work the same way - the agent_url field identifies which agent is authoritative for each format
See the Channel Guides for format examples and patterns across video, display, audio, DOOH, and carousels.

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Manifests

Manifests are JSON structures pairing asset IDs from the format with actual asset content. They provide the URLs, text, and tracking pixels needed to assemble a complete creative. See Creative Manifests for detailed documentation.

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Universal Macros

Macros are placeholders in tracking URLs that get replaced with actual values at impression time (e.g., {MEDIA_BUY_ID}, {DEVICE_ID}, {CACHEBUSTER}). AdCP defines universal macros that work across all platforms - sales agents translate them to their ad server’s syntax. See Universal Macros for complete reference.

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Common Patterns

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Third-Party Tags

For third-party served ads, formats specify HTML or JavaScript asset requirements. See the Display Channel Guide for third-party tag format examples.

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Repeatable Asset Groups

For carousels, slideshows, stories, playlists - anything with multiple repetitions of the same structure. See the Carousel & Multi-Asset Formats guide for complete documentation on repeatable asset groups.

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DOOH Impression Tracking

Digital Out-of-Home formats use impression tracking with venue-specific macros instead of device identifiers. See the DOOH Channel Guide for DOOH-specific macro details.

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Channel-Specific Information

For detailed information on specific ad formats and channels, see the Creative Manifests documentation which covers:
  • Video Ads - VAST, hosted video, CTV formats
  • Display Ads - Banners, third-party tags, responsive formats
  • Audio Ads - Streaming audio formats
  • DOOH - Digital billboards, venue targeting, venue-based impression tracking
  • Repeatable Asset Groups - Carousels, slideshows, story formats

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Getting Started

  1. Discover formats: Call list_creative_formats to see what’s available
  2. Choose your channel guide: Pick the guide that matches your campaign type
  3. Build your manifest: Follow the format requirements
  4. Use universal macros: Add tracking with standardized macros
  5. Preview: Use preview_creative to see how it looks
  6. Submit: Include manifests in your create_media_buy request

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Additional Resources