Motion graphics ads: what they are, with examples

Motion graphics ads are video ads made of moving type, shapes, icons, charts and product screens, with no filmed footage and no drawn characters. They are one kind of animated ad, and a natural fit for an app, because an app is already something on a screen. Below: what sets them apart, where they run and what each platform asks for, and four real motion graphics ads for apps, taken apart second by second.

In short

• What they are: graphic design that moves. Headlines, price cards, icons, charts, logos and screenshots arrive, move and leave in time with the music.
• Animated ads is the wider name. It also covers character animation, AI-generated video and animated banners.
• Where they run: on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok an animated ad is a video: 9:16 for Reels and TikTok, 4:5 for the Facebook Feed. On Google's display network an animated GIF has to stop moving within 30 seconds.
• What the four examples share: one line of type to open, the real app on screen, proof you can see, and one button to close. Every line reads with the sound off.

What is a motion graphics ad?

A motion graphics ad is graphic design set in motion to sell something. Its parts are the parts of a poster or a web page: a headline, a price card, an icon, a chart, a logo, a screenshot. Instead of sitting still, they arrive, move and leave in time with each other and with the sound.

Wikipedia describes motion graphics as animation or digital footage that creates the illusion of motion, and says the term usually means the commercial use of animation and effects in video, film, TV and interactive applications. One of the first to use the term was John Whitney, who founded a company called Motion Graphics Inc. in 1960.¹

A motion graphics ad has no actors, no presenter, no filmed product and no cartoon characters. Everything in it is designed, so every word is set as type and the screens can be the product's own.

Are animated ads the same as motion graphics ads?

Not quite. Animated ads is the wider name: any ad that moves without being filmed. Three kinds of video ad go by it, and they are made differently.

A fourth thing shares the name: animated display ads, the moving banners on websites. On Google's display network they are GIF or HTML5 files with rules of their own. A GIF's animation must be 30 seconds or shorter. It may loop, but it must stop after 30 seconds, run slower than 5 frames a second and weigh 150 KB at most. An HTML5 ad can weigh up to 600 KB.²

For an app, the difference is practical: a motion graphics ad can put the app's real screens in front of the viewer and set every word as type.

Motion graphics ad examples: four app ads, second by second

The four films below are from the showcase on the 10xvid home page. They are not customer case studies: this section shows what each one does on screen, not how it performed. Typally and Agent Games are apps made by 10xvid's founder.

Each is a vertical 9:16 film. They play muted here, which is a fair test: watch whether each one still makes sense without sound. Times are approximate, to the second.

Typally, a voice typing app (22 seconds)

• 0 to 3 s. The hook, as type: "You think faster than you type." builds a few words at a time, "faster" in green italics, and a thin line draws under it.
• 3 to 6 s. The product in one picture: a single key, PageUp, with a microphone over it and a sound wave. "Hold a key, let go" writes itself in.
• 6 to 8 s. The scene goes dark. "Ums gone." A sentence forms in a card while its filler words are struck out.
• 8 to 11 s. The microphone branches out to Gmail, Slack, Word and WhatsApp. "Anywhere you can type."
• 11 to 13 s. One big number, with two bars filling under it: the keyboard's and Typally's.
• 13 to 16 s. "Mic closed until you hold the key." A wireframe globe with a lock, and a "Never stored" tag.
• 16 to 19 s. "Start free." The free plan, as a card.
• 19 to 22 s. The logo, "No card, nothing to cancel." and a "Download free" button that a cursor presses.

Every claim in it is an object you can see: a key, a struck-out word, a bar, a lock.

Agent Games, an arcade of AI-made games (21 seconds)

• 0 to 2 s. "AI WROTE THIS" in heavy yellow and white type on blue.
• 2 to 5 s. Squares fly together into a game's screenshot. "Every game names the model", with the model's name as a pill under the game.
• 5 to 8 s. A circle wipes to a stack of game cards and the number of games in the arcade.
• 8 to 11 s. "One tap. Play." The site's own screen inside a phone, with a rating and a play count flying in as tags.
• 11 to 14 s. "Which model is best? You judge."
• 14 to 16 s. A game's top score lands in a ring, then turns into a gold coin. "Beat the crown."
• 16 to 19 s. Three buttons, Sign-up, Install and Download, are struck out one by one. "Just your browser."
• 19 to 21 s. The logo, "Free, no sign-up" and a "PLAY NOW" button that a cursor presses.

It answers the viewer's first doubt, whether there is something to install, by striking out three buttons.

Perla, a wellbeing app (21 seconds)

• 0 to 3 s. "Your dream life, in your own voice" in a serif, over the app's home screen in a phone, with a Play tag.
• 3 to 6 s. Two pills, "Quote feeds" and "Movie magic", are struck through. "Written about you."
• 6 to 9 s. A three-step flow: Your answers, Narrated for you, Listen daily.
• 9 to 12 s. A player card greets the listener by name, with a waveform and a caption typing under it.
• 12 to 15 s. "The Wall": a checklist ticks itself.
• 15 to 18 s. "Meet your life, don't chase." set large, with "chase." in purple italics.
• 18 to 21 s. The logo, the offer in one line and a "Get Perla" button that a cursor presses.

The same build as the Typally ad, in a calmer voice: serif type and soft colours.

10xvid's own ad, in whiteboard style (17 seconds)

• 0 to 3 s. One black line with a red tip draws across a blank page. "An engine draws your app's ad." types itself in.
• 3 to 6 s. The line draws a phone, and the Perla ad's opening screen lands inside it.
• 6 to 9 s. "Motion V1 keeps text sharp, every frame." and a large "V1" in a drawn frame.
• 9 to 12 s. The line leads on to a wall of other ads, the Typally and Agent Games ads among them.
• 12 to 14 s. Another ad in a phone, and "10xvid runs 30+ checks on every film." with a tick.
• 14 to 17 s. The 10xvid logo, "The first ad is free. No card." and a "Join the waitlist" button.

One unbroken line runs through every shot, so the ad reads as a single drawing.

What the four have in common

The four look nothing alike, and they are built the same way.

• The hook is type. Each opens on one line, set large, in the first two or three seconds, before any picture of the product.
• One idea per beat. A new beat lands about every three seconds: seven or eight of them in about 21 seconds.
• The real product is on screen. The app's own screens, or parts of them: a key, a player, a game card.
• Proof is shown. Bars that fill, a top score in a ring, a checklist that ticks, a word that gets struck out.
• It reads without sound. Every line of the story is on screen as text.
• One offer, one button. Each ends on the logo, one line of offer and one button. In three of the four, a cursor presses it.

Where motion graphics ads run, and what each place asks for

On Facebook, Instagram and TikTok a motion graphics ad is uploaded as a video. The numbers below are from each platform's own pages, read on 14 October 2026.³⁴

On the Facebook Feed, captions and sound are optional but recommended. In Instagram Reels, keep 14% of the top, 35% of the bottom and 6% of each side free of text and logos. TikTok also accepts 1:1 and 16:9, and files up to 500 MB.

What is allowed and what works are different questions. For mobile feeds, Meta's advice is to capture attention fast, to consider delivering the message in 15 seconds or less, and to "Build for sound off. Delight with sound on."⁵ Reels are different: they play with sound unless the viewer has turned it off. Meta reports a 34.5% lower cost per result, compared with image ads, for Reels campaigns that included 9:16 video ads with audio, from an analysis of 15 split tests.⁶

So make the ad read with the sound off, and give it sound worth hearing. The four examples run 17 to 22 seconds, over Meta's 15, and each puts its idea in the opening line. On paid plans 10xvid makes films of 5 to 30 seconds; the free first ad is 15.

How 10xvid makes motion graphics ads

10xvid makes motion graphics ads for apps from a link. Paste your website or your App Store page, and it reads the words, the pictures, the logo, the colours and the type. Its engine, Motion V1, does not generate pixels. It casts each shot from 40+ designs, takes its timing from 4,000+ measured moves in professional motion design, and draws every frame from your real pictures, colours and type, so text stays sharp. Every film passes 30+ checks before you see it, and comes as 9:16, 1:1 or 16:9. Your material and your ads are yours.

There is more on the engine's page, in from a link to a finished ad and in how the quality gate works.

The first ad is free, with no card: make your first ad.

Questions about animated ads

Are motion graphics ads the same as animated ads?

Motion graphics ads are one kind of animated ad. Animated ads also covers character animation, AI-generated video and animated banners. Of these, motion graphics is the kind built from the product's own screens and words.

How long should an animated ad be?

Long enough to land one idea. TikTok In-Feed allows up to 10 minutes and Instagram Reels up to 15, but Meta suggests 15 seconds or less for mobile feeds. Put the idea in the opening line.

Can you run animated ads on Facebook and Instagram?

Yes, as video ads. Meta's Ads Guide recommends 4:5 for the Facebook Feed and 9:16 for Instagram Reels. In a Reels ad, keep the top 14%, the bottom 35% and 6% of each side free of text and logos.

What is an animated display ad?

A moving banner on a website, served through a display network such as Google's. On Google it is a GIF or an HTML5 file. A GIF's animation must stop within 30 seconds, run slower than 5 frames a second and weigh 150 KB at most.

Do animated ads need sound?

They need to work without it. Meta's advice for feeds is "Build for sound off. Delight with sound on." Reels play with sound unless the viewer has turned it off, so a Reels ad should have sound worth hearing.

Can I make a motion graphics ad without a motion designer?

Yes. Decide three things first: the one line it opens on, the screens that prove it, and the offer it ends on. 10xvid makes the film from your app's link, in all three shapes.

1. Wikipedia, "Motion graphics", read on 14 October 2026. ↩
2. Google Ads Help, "Uploaded display ads specifications", read on 14 October 2026. ↩
3. Meta Ads Guide, video specs for the "Facebook Feed" and for "Instagram Reels", read on 14 October 2026. ↩
4. TikTok Ads Manager help, "TikTok Auction In-Feed Ads", last updated June 2026, read on 14 October 2026. ↩
5. Meta for Business, "Want to make better video ads for mobile? Here's how", read on 14 October 2026. ↩
6. Meta for Business, "Reels ads", read on 14 October 2026. Meta gives the source as a global analysis of 15 split tests of Reels-only campaigns where advertisers used a still image. ↩