What are Spark Ads?
Last updated 2026-10-20
Spark Ads are a TikTok ad format that promotes an existing organic post, either from your own account or from a creator who authorizes it. Views, likes, comments and follows from the ad count toward the original post. A standard in-feed ad is separate creative uploaded for the campaign.
What Spark Ads are
TikTok's Business Help Center describes Spark Ads as a native format that runs an organic TikTok post as an ad. There are two sources: posts from your own TikTok account, or posts made by other creators, with their authorization.
The ad borrows the post's identity. Its display name and text reflect the organic post, and TikTok's creation guide says you cannot edit a post's caption after it has been authorized as an ad. TikTok's stated payoff is that views, likes, comments, shares and follows earned during the promotion are credited to the original post. A post added with a code has to be public, or Ads Manager returns a not_public_video error.
How a Spark Ads authorization code works
A code is how a creator gives you permission to run one specific post. Instead of codes, you can link an account through Business Center, such as your in-house account or a creator's account, and pick posts from it.
- Creator side. In the TikTok app the creator opens the video, taps the three dots, taps the Ad settings icon, then taps Generate to get the post code.
- Advertiser side. In Ads Manager, create a campaign, open the ad creatives section, choose the TikTok posts tab, then Add post, and enter the code. You can enter up to 20 at a time.
- Duration. The authorization period shows beneath each post and has to cover the whole run, or Ads Manager returns error 900010. Requests sent through Content Suite default to 365 days.
- Rejected codes. An expired code (auth_code_expired) needs the creator to extend the authorization. A deleted one (auth_code_not_found) needs a new code. Story videos and duet carousels are not accepted.
Spark Ads vs standard in-feed ads
TikTok's help pages compare them. The numbers behind each format are on the video ad specs page.
| Aspect | Spark Ads | Standard (non-Spark) in-feed ad |
|---|---|---|
| Built from | An existing organic post, yours or a creator's | Creative made and uploaded for the ad |
| Tap on profile photo or name | Opens the video owner's profile | Goes to the landing or app install page |
| Engagement and reporting | Likes, comments, shares and follows are credited to the original post; reports add paid followers and profile visits to paid likes, shares and comments | Paid likes, shares and comments are tracked, and paid clicks also count taps on the name, photo and swipe left |
| Video file | Pulls .mp4 or .mov; captions up to 4 lines | Accepts .mp4, .mov, .mpeg, .3gp or .avi, up to 10 minutes and 500 MB |
Spark Ads vs UGC ads, and what the edit needs
These answer different questions. Spark Ads is a delivery format: the ad is a real post. A UGC ad is a style of footage, made by a customer or creator or made to look that way, and the UGC video guide covers it. A creator's post that you spark is both. A UGC-style clip uploaded as a standard ad is only the second.
- Keep a clean cut. A sparked post is final, so keep an unsparked version of the clip for any standard ad you still want to change.
| Case | When the edit happens | What to settle first |
|---|---|---|
| Spark Ad from your own post | Before you publish the post | The hook, burned-in captions and the post caption, since the ad runs the post as published and the caption cannot change after authorization |
| Spark Ad from a creator's post | Before the creator posts | The final cut and caption, agreed before the code is generated |
| Standard or UGC-style ad | Any time before upload | Vertical 9:16, 500 MB or less and up to 10 minutes, one variant per hook |
Edit the post or the ad variants in Woven
Woven, a Mac video editor with an AI agent, makes the video, not the TikTok side. It does not post to TikTok, generate authorization codes or run Ads Manager, so you upload the file yourself. It can build the post or the ad variants: a vertical canvas, captions burned into the picture, and an H.264 MP4 export. For a variant, ask in chat for a different opening.
Ask in chat
- Cut this to the first 20 seconds and add word-by-word captions.
- Make a second version that opens on the product shot.
- Export it as a 9:16 MP4 at 1080p.
Or do it by hand
- 1Set the shape. In the toolbar's Format menu choose Vertical 1080x1920, the ratio TikTok recommends for standard ads and a natural fit for an organic post.
- 2Add the words. Open Add and choose Generate captions. On the Style tab, set Caption style to Word by word or another look.
- 3Tighten the hook. Shorten a clip by dragging its edge, or split at the playhead with ⌘B, until the first line makes the point.
- 4Export. Click Export, pick 1080p and wait for Done. The file lands in the workspace's exports folder.
- 5Post, then authorize. Upload the video to TikTok yourself. For a creator's post, the creator generates the code in the app.
Common questions
Spark Ads are a TikTok ad format that runs an organic post as an ad, from your own account or from a creator who authorizes it. The engagement the ad earns is credited to the original post.
It is a post code the creator generates in the TikTok app, under the video's Ad settings. You enter it in the TikTok posts tab in Ads Manager to get permission to run that post as an ad.
Ask the creator to open the video, tap the three dots, tap Ad settings and tap Generate, then send you the code. You can also send an authorization request through TikTok Content Suite.
No. TikTok's creation guide says you cannot edit a post's caption after it has been authorized as an ad. The ad's display name and text reflect the organic post.
Spark Ads is a format that runs an existing post. UGC ads describe creator-style footage. A creator's post run as a Spark Ad is both.
Sources
- About Spark Ads - TikTok Business Help Center, checked October 19, 2026
- How to create Spark Ads for Manual and Search Campaigns - TikTok Business Help Center, checked October 19, 2026
- Spark Ads code error notifications - TikTok Business Help Center, checked October 19, 2026
- How to use Content Suite to create and launch Spark Ads - TikTok Business Help Center, checked October 19, 2026
- TikTok Auction In-Feed Ads specifications - TikTok Business Help Center, checked October 19, 2026
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