Playable advertising

A playable ad lets someone try a short interaction before opening the app or game. The useful question is whether that interaction honestly represents the product and helps the right person decide to continue. A high tap count on a misleading miniature game is not a win.

Design one honest action

Pick a core action the full product really offers: arrange a puzzle piece, make a choice or test a control. Teach it quickly, let the user complete a meaningful loop and make the next step clear.

Keep instructions brief. Unity checks that playable content is usable and reaches an end screen in a reasonable time. The creative should work on supported devices, orientations and muted audio.

Separate the ad's interaction from the destination outcome. Google counts an engagement when someone first interacts with or clicks its HTML5 playable ad and defines later app-install attribution separately. That event does not prove the user enjoyed the full app, retained or paid. Choose a post-install activation event and compare it with other acquisition creative under the same measurement rules.

Key metrics for measuring playable ad success

Fit the format rules before you build

Google's App campaigns accept HTML5/Playable assets as a .ZIP file of no more than 5 MB and no more than 512 files inside it, with up to 20 .ZIP files per ad group. Non-ASCII characters must use UTF-8. AMPHTML assets are not supported, and playable ads are not eligible to serve on App campaigns for pre-registration or engagement.

Set orientation with the ad.orientation meta tag: portrait, landscape, or portrait,landscape for an asset that works in both. The older ad.size tag accepts only 320x480 portrait and 480x320 landscape, and interstitial assets in those dimensions can be up to 5.2 MB. Where both meta tags appear, ad.orientation is the value used.

Assets with unsupported dimensions are rejected at upload. Leave out meta tags, or set the orientation values incorrectly, and the asset is not rejected but renders in portrait only. Folder and file names inside the .ZIP may contain only letters, numbers, periods, hyphens and underscores, so spaces can trigger errors. Supported file types are a defined list that includes CSS, GIF, HTML, JPEG, JS and PNG.

Build the asset responsively, because it renders as a full-screen ad across a range of display sizes. Sound and video are supported for HTML5 app campaign ads, but sound must not be enabled before the user interacts with a playable. Google pairs playable assets with the app icon, app description or description text on the Display Network, and App campaigns respect account-level placement exclusions.

Playable ad format rules: Google Ads vs Unity Ads

Test the experience before launch

Run the playable on representative older and newer phones, both orientations if promised, and a slow connection. Measure time to first usable action, failed loads, accidental taps and the clarity of the install action. Platform file and format limits differ and can change; check the current specification for the inventory you intend to buy.

Review the claim as a new user would. If the ad shows a mechanic, reward or level unavailable in the actual app, change the creative or explain the limitation. Avoid fake close buttons and controls that imply an action will happen when it instead opens a store. A playable can be engaging and still be a poor advertisement if it sets the wrong expectation.

Pass moderation before you buy

Unity Ads runs moderation checks alongside its technical specifications. Code must be correctly minified rather than expanded. The initial file size must be under 6 MB. Content must function on iOS version 8 or greater and Android version 4.4 or greater, without polyfill issues on older Android versions.

Compatibility checks require content to scale automatically to the device screen size, work on both iOS and Android and through orientation changes, and send the install button to the iOS or Android store. Sound must respect the physical mute switch: on iOS, enabling the mute switch turns sound off, and flipping it turns sound back on.

Functionality checks look for content that is viewable rather than pixelated, plays at a high performance throughout without stuttering, and stops sound when the screen locks and restarts it when unlocked. Creatives must avoid console log errors and improper external requests, use the mobile OS video player rather than playing video inside the ad unit, and keep the install button accessible and unobstructed.

Content checks require the playable to be not too difficult for the audience and to run a reasonable length before the final end screen and call to action. Prohibited content includes nudity, pornography, hate speech, weapons, real life violence, illegal drugs and pirated content. Unity restricts delivery of creatives with frightening, violent or otherwise mature themes.

Match the creative to the campaign goal

Google advises aligning creative assets with the campaign goal. To drive installs, assets should reflect the act of installing, such as a text creative prompting “Download now” or “Play now”. To drive purchases, they should display sales, discounts or items for purchase. To increase retention or re-engagement, they should highlight lower-funnel or newly available features.

Ad groups in App campaigns group assets around a specific app feature, message or user demographic. Keep each playable consistent with its ad group's theme and audience rather than running one generic interaction across every ad group.