What is live, and what is gone
Checked on 30 October 2026 against each platform’s own announcement. The discontinued rows matter most, because they are still listed as options in most guides.
| Format | Platform | Status | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Playable ads | Google, Meta, TikTok, in-app networks | Live | Current |
| Instant Experience | Meta | Live, previously called Canvas | Current |
| Collection ads | Meta | Live, opens an Instant Experience | Current |
| Ads that click to Messenger | Meta | Live | Current |
| Lead ads with instant forms | Meta | Live, conditional questions available | Current |
| Poll component | Meta | Withdrawn, no longer creatable | 27 October 2026 |
| Third-party AR effects | Meta Spark | Shut down | 14 January 2025 |
| Interactive add-ons | TikTok | Live, standard and premium tiers | Current |
| AR Lenses and AR Filters | Snapchat | Live, built in Lens Studio | Current |
| Action Ads | Roku | Live, interactive on its own channel only | October 2025 |
| Interactive video ads | Amazon, on Prime Video | Live | May 2026 |
| Rich media and playables in-app | MRAID 3.0 | Live standard | Current |
| Interactive video standard | SIMID 1.2, with VAST | Live standard | Current |
| VPAID | Display and video | Deprecated, replaced by SIMID and OMID | Superseded |
The two withdrawals worth knowing
If you are reading an older guide to interactive advertising, these are the two things it gets wrong.
- Meta Spark, AR ads
Third-party AR effects stopped being available on 14 January 2025, announced the previous August. AR effects Meta owns itself continue, so AR on Meta is no longer something a brand can build.Source: Meta Spark, a Meta Spark update
- Meta poll ads
The poll component can no longer be created or added to an ad. It went for new API version calls in July 2026 and for every version on 27 October 2026. Existing ads can still be updated, as long as the creative does not change.Source: Meta for Developers, Marketing API v26.0 changelog
- What replaced them
Neither announcement names a replacement format. On Meta the interactive options that remain are Instant Experience, Collection, click to Messenger and instant forms.Source: Meta for Developers, Marketing API v26.0 changelog
- VPAID
The old interactive video standard is deprecated in favour of SIMID for interactivity and OMID for measurement. Anything still specifying VPAID is working from a pre-2020 brief.Source: IAB Tech Lab, secure interactive media interface definition
The five families
Strip out the platform names and interactive advertising is five things, each with a different job.
Playables
A few seconds of a real product, usually a game, running inside the ad. The most committed form of interactivity and the only one that regularly replaces a demo. Covered on playable ads.
Expandable and rich media
A display unit that opens, carries video or a carousel, and reports its own engagement. Governed in-app by MRAID. Covered on rich media ads.
Shoppable
Product tagging and checkout inside the unit, so the interaction is the purchase rather than a click out. Covered on shoppable ads.
Camera and AR
The ad uses the camera: a lens, a filter, a scan. A much smaller market than it was two years ago. Covered on AR ads.
Gamified
A reward loop bolted onto an ordinary ad: spin, scratch, quiz, streak. Cheap to build and easy to overuse. Covered on gamified ads.
When interactivity actually pays
Interaction is a cost you impose on the viewer, and it only pays when the thing being interacted with is the thing being sold.
The format works when the interaction is a demo. A playable sells a game because playing is the product. A configurator sells a sofa because choosing is the purchase. In both the viewer learns something they could not learn from watching.
It fails when the interaction is a toy. A spin-to-win on a considered purchase adds a step and teaches nothing, which is why gamified units tend to post strong engagement and flat revenue. Engagement is the metric interactive formats always win and the one that least often matters.
Watch where the format is actually sold, too. Playables are gated to app promotion objectives, Roku’s interactivity only works on its own channel, and most of the famous interactive campaigns below were one-off builds rather than anything you can buy in an ads manager. The gap between the case studies and the media plan is the real story of this category.
For most advertisers the honest answer is that video carries the account and one interactive format earns its place where it demos the product. Everything else on this page is worth knowing mainly so you can tell which half a vendor is selling you.
Brands that buy at this scale
Real ads from advertisers whose budgets fund interactive work. The campaigns themselves are on the examples page.
VideoCoca-Cola“There’s a Coke for everyone.”Pure brand, no offer. The budget that funds an interactive stunt sits beside work like this.
VideoMcDonald's“SPICY McNUGGETS ARE BACK”Limited time, on screen. The chain behind two of the campaigns below.
VideoTaco Bell“free beefy 5-layer burrito”The offer is the creative, which is also how the best interactive work is structured.
VideoVerizon“Get 100% fiber internet”One claim in plain words, the discipline an interactive unit still needs.
VideoProgressive“See if you could save”A number doing the selling. Interactivity is not a substitute for an offer.
The video that carries the account
Whichever interactive format earns its place, video is still the volume. Here is that part handled.
Director by Sprites is a full creative team for your startup, in private beta. Every Monday you get finished, on-brand video ads, reviewed by a human.
Strategy, hooks, scripts, shooting and editing, end to end. You never write a prompt. You pick the winners. Sprites ships the campaigns.
Every video is checked by a person before it reaches your inbox. No endless revisions.
Questions
What are interactive ads?
Ads that ask the viewer to do something other than watch: play, tap, choose, scan or buy inside the unit. They cover playables, rich media, shoppable units, AR lenses and gamified mechanics.
Does Meta still have AR ads?
Not for brands. Meta Spark stopped supporting third-party AR effects on 14 January 2025, so only AR effects Meta owns itself remain.
Can you still run poll ads on Meta?
No. The poll component can no longer be created or added to an ad on any Marketing API version as of 27 October 2026. Existing ads can be updated only if the creative does not change.
Which interactive ad format performs best?
The one where interacting is the demo. Playables work because playing is the product; a gamified spin on a considered purchase usually buys engagement without revenue.
What is the difference between interactive and rich media?
Rich media is the display family of interactive ads, the expandable units governed by MRAID in-app. Interactive is the wider category that also covers playables, shoppable and AR.
Keep going
Want the video side handled?
Every Monday you get finished, on-brand video ads, reviewed by a human. You never write a prompt. You pick the winners. Sprites ships the campaigns.