The weekly routine
- Open facebook.com/ads/library. Set country to your top market.
- Search each of your 10 competitors by page name.
- Filter to "All ads" + "Active ads only".
- Capture 4 fields per competitor (see template below).
The template (first 30%)
One row per competitor, updated weekly. After 4 weeks you'll see freshness patterns (who refreshes weekly vs lets ads age).
| Field | What to capture |
|---|
| Competitor | Brand name + Meta page URL |
| Active ads | Count of "active" creative variations |
| Newest ad date | Date of the most recently launched creative |
| Oldest active ad date | Earliest launch date among still-running ads |
Preview ends here
Rest of the template (6 more fields + weekly view + diff-detection method) is gated below.
The remaining 6 fields
| Field | What to capture |
|---|
| Top hook (paraphrase) | Opening 1-2 sentences of their #1 ad |
| Top product featured | Which SKU is in the most ads — reveals their hero |
| Dominant angle | Pain, social proof, founder, demo, scarcity |
| Format mix | % UGC vs polished, vertical vs square, video vs static |
| New launches this week | Ads added since last check |
| Killed this week | Ads no longer active since last check |
Sample row
| Competitor | Bubble Skincare |
| Active ads | 47 |
| Newest ad | 2026-05-21 |
| Oldest active | 2026-02-14 (98 days — refresh overdue) |
| Top hook | "POV: you found the cleanser that doesn't strip your skin" |
| Top product | Slam Dunk hydrating cleanser |
| Dominant angle | POV-style UGC, Gen Z testimonial |
| Format mix | 85% vertical UGC, 12% creator-collab, 3% polished brand |
| New this week | 3 (all featuring summer SPF launch) |
| Killed this week | 2 (their winter dry-skin angles) |
The weekly diff method
Every Monday, scan the "newest ad date" column. Brands launching weekly are running aggressive test cycles — match their cadence. Brands with oldest-active > 90 days are coasting — opportunity to outflank.
Save the screenshot of their top 3 ads each week to a Drive folder. After 12 weeks you have a longitudinal record of their creative evolution — gold for sales decks and your own creative strategy.
Pair this with
Our free Meta Ad Library lookup tool auto-fetches active-ad counts and top product. Use it as the quick weekly fill-in step.