Latest report

August 2026

Paid-social creative is feed-native and immediate: authentic UGC, sub-15-second video with a two-second hook, rapid AI-driven variant testing, and information-dense statics. The visual mood is bold but human—high-energy color, expressive typography, tactile imperfection, and platform-native execution rather than polished one-size-fits-all advertising.

Colors

  • Cool Blue

    This icy blue creates fresh, high-contrast feed backgrounds while tapping the calm, focused mood gaining momentum in searches and saves.

  • Jade

    This muted mint-moss green gives wellness, beauty, lifestyle, and interiors ads a serene but more distinctive alternative to beige.

  • Plum Noir

    This near-black burgundy adds mystery and premium depth, making it useful for dramatic product backdrops and luxury campaigns.

  • Wasabi

    This electric chartreuse delivers an immediate visual jolt and works especially well for scroll-stopping accents, buttons, prices, and offer graphics.

  • Persimmon

    This joyful orange-red brings warmth and urgency to social creative, helping products and calls to action feel energetic without defaulting to conventional red.

Typefaces

  • General Sanssoft grotesque sans

    Advertisers are using warm, rounded grotesques to retain mobile clarity while making tech, wellness, and consumer brands feel friendlier and less generic.

  • Frauncesexpressive variable serif

    Its soft and wonky variable axes let campaign teams create distinctive editorial headlines and many coordinated variants from one flexible family.

  • Hanken Groteskrounded geometric sans

    Its generous counters and softened geometry provide approachable, highly legible copy for UGC overlays, statics, and conversion-focused mobile ads.

  • Advertisers are borrowing its terminal-like precision and analog-computing nostalgia for tech launches, data-led claims, labels, and editorial-style social layouts.

  • Bebas Neuecondensed display sans

    Its narrow, heavy proportions pack large offer-first headlines into vertical placements and fit the current brutalist, high-impact display direction.

Proven in the wild

The longest running ads right now.

Brands keep paying for what keeps working. These are the three active ads with the longest run in the live archive, refreshed every morning.

Dr. Squatch ad creative
Dr. Squatch939 days and counting, since January 22, 2024
Leesa ad creative
Leesa874 days and counting, since March 27, 2024
Datadog ad creative
Datadog805 days and counting, since June 4, 2024
See every version of these in the library

The report archive

August 20265 colors, 5 typefacesJuly 20265 colors, 6 typefacesJune 20267 colors, 6 typefaces
# The trends the feed is running on

> Monthly research into the trending colors and typefaces in paid social ads.

Copy the hex codes, follow the typefaces to the source. Refreshed on the first of every month, grounded in real sources. The page also shows the three active ads with the longest run in the live archive, which is the one trend signal nobody can argue with: brands keep paying for what keeps working.

## August 2026

Paid-social creative is feed-native and immediate: authentic UGC, sub-15-second video with a two-second hook, rapid AI-driven variant testing, and information-dense statics. The visual mood is bold but human—high-energy color, expressive typography, tactile imperfection, and platform-native execution rather than polished one-size-fits-all advertising.

### Colors

- `#D7EFFF` **Cool Blue**: This icy blue creates fresh, high-contrast feed backgrounds while tapping the calm, focused mood gaining momentum in searches and saves.
- `#AEB8A0` **Jade**: This muted mint-moss green gives wellness, beauty, lifestyle, and interiors ads a serene but more distinctive alternative to beige.
- `#351E28` **Plum Noir**: This near-black burgundy adds mystery and premium depth, making it useful for dramatic product backdrops and luxury campaigns.
- `#E9F056` **Wasabi**: This electric chartreuse delivers an immediate visual jolt and works especially well for scroll-stopping accents, buttons, prices, and offer graphics.
- `#FF5C34` **Persimmon**: This joyful orange-red brings warmth and urgency to social creative, helping products and calls to action feel energetic without defaulting to conventional red.

### Typefaces

- [General Sans](https://www.fontshare.com/fonts/general-sans) (soft grotesque sans): Advertisers are using warm, rounded grotesques to retain mobile clarity while making tech, wellness, and consumer brands feel friendlier and less generic.
- [Fraunces](https://fonts.google.com/?query=Fraunces) (expressive variable serif): Its soft and wonky variable axes let campaign teams create distinctive editorial headlines and many coordinated variants from one flexible family.
- [Hanken Grotesk](https://fonts.google.com/?query=Hanken%20Grotesk) (rounded geometric sans): Its generous counters and softened geometry provide approachable, highly legible copy for UGC overlays, statics, and conversion-focused mobile ads.
- [JetBrains Mono](https://fonts.google.com/?query=JetBrains%20Mono) (monospace): Advertisers are borrowing its terminal-like precision and analog-computing nostalgia for tech launches, data-led claims, labels, and editorial-style social layouts.
- [Bebas Neue](https://fonts.google.com/?query=Bebas%20Neue) (condensed display sans): Its narrow, heavy proportions pack large offer-first headlines into vertical placements and fit the current brutalist, high-impact display direction.

### Sources

- [Ad Creative Trends 2026: What's Working in Paid Ads | AdLibrary](https://adlibrary.com/guides/ad-creative-trends-2026)
- [Canva Design Trends 2026](https://www.canva.com/design-trends)
- [The 2026 Pinterest Palette™: Trending colours | Pinterest Business](https://business.pinterest.com/pinterest-palette/)
- [Font Trends 2026: The 12 Type Movements Shaping Design This Year](https://madegooddesigns.com/font-trends-2026)
- [General Sans](https://www.fontshare.com/?categories=Sans)
- [Font trends 2026 | Author Hub](https://hub.author.envato.com/font-trends-2026)

## The report archive

- [August 2026](/resources/2026-08): 5 colors, 5 typefaces
- [July 2026](/resources/2026-07): 5 colors, 6 typefaces
- [June 2026](/resources/2026-06): 7 colors, 6 typefaces