The Athletic

The Athletic’s Meta Ad Strategy

Tracked since Jul 2025 · General

● Tracked over time
Total ads tracked
120
Active now
100
Longest-running ad
434 days
Avg ad lifespan
49 days

Ad volume over time

the data competitors don’t show

The Athletic went from 2 to 120 active ads (60.0×) between Jul '25 and Sep '26.

Jul '25Aug '25Sep '25Oct '25Nov '25Dec '25Jan '26Feb '26Mar '26Apr '26May '26Jun '26Jul '26Aug '26Sep '26120

Signal: started testing video creative around Jun '26.

Proven winners — ranked by days running

our honest performance proxy

The longer an ad runs, the more it’s working. (We never invent CTR or ROAS.)

Running 188 days
Prediction markets are coming to sports in a big way. Here’s wha · since Mar 2026
Running 187 days
{{product.name}} · since Mar 2026
Running 187 days
Prediction markets are coming to sports in a big way. Here’s wha · since Mar 2026
Running 187 days
Ranking the 25 best college football programs of the 2000s: Shou · since Mar 2026
Running 161 days
Ranking the 25 best college football stadiums from the Big House · since Apr 2026
Running 157 days
Ranking the 25 best college football stadiums from the Big House · since Apr 2026
Running 132 days
Ranking the 25 best college football programs of the 2000s: Shou · since May 2026
Running 113 days
Ranking the 25 best college football teams of the 2000s: Is 2001 · since May 2026
Running 113 days
{{product.name}} · since May 2026

Format mix

Text Overlay68%
Ugc Lifestyle20%
Slideshow8%
Studio Product4%

Hook types

Question33%
Curiosity Gap29%
Story17%
Statistic13%
Problem Agitation4%
Contrarian4%

Recently launched

Sep 2026
Sep 2026
Sep 2026
Sep 2026
Sep 2026
Sep 2026

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Frequently asked

How many Meta ads is The Athletic running?
The Athletic has 100 active ads right now, out of 120 tracked since Jul 2025.
What is The Athletic's longest-running ad?
Their longest-running ad has stayed live 434 days. The longer an ad runs, the more it's likely working — AdWhispr uses ad longevity as an honest proxy for performance, and never invents CTR or ROAS.
Where does this The Athletic ad data come from?
The public Meta Ad Library, tracked daily. We reconstruct ad-volume trends and creative-format shifts over time from each ad's first- and last-seen dates.
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Based on the public Meta Ad Library. Ad-volume trend reconstructed from each ad’s first/last-seen dates.