Ads — Creative Selection and Tag Configuration on ad:personam

The Ads step in the Line Item setup wizard is where you choose which creatives run in your Line Item and optionally customise per-tag settings such as tracking pixels, destination URLs, and AdChoices labels. When the Line Item is submitted, a Tag is created automatically for each selected creative — linking it to the Line Item with its own configuration.

For the complete campaign setup process, refer to the Campaign Setup Guide.

How Creatives and Tags Relate

Creatives are uploaded at the Campaign level and can be shared across multiple Line Items. They are the actual ad assets — banners, videos, HTML5 units, native ads, or third-party tags from external ad servers.

Tags are the bridge between a Creative and a Line Item. Each Tag carries its own settings — name, active/inactive state, AdChoices label, tracking pixels, and an optional destination URL override. This means the same Creative can behave differently across Line Items depending on its Tag configuration.

When you select a Creative during Line Item setup, a Tag is created for it automatically upon submission. You can configure Tag settings either during setup or afterwards from the Campaign overview.

Available Creative Types by Campaign

The ad type selector at the top of the Ads step filters which creatives are shown. Available types depend on your campaign type:

Once you begin selecting creatives of one type, the type selector is locked until all selections are cleared. This ensures a Line Item contains only one creative format.

Selecting Creatives

The creative selection table lists all eligible creatives for the chosen ad type within your Campaign.

Table Columns

Search and Pagination

Use the search bar to filter creatives by name or ID. The table displays 5 creatives per page with pagination controls.

Selection Rules

• Only active creatives with a valid click URL can be selected.
• Paused or deleted creatives appear in the table but cannot be selected (row is dimmed with a tooltip explaining why).
• Third-party creatives that failed content analysis (Rejected) are also disabled.
• You can select multiple creatives — each one generates its own Tag when the Line Item is submitted.

Configuring Tag Settings

For each selected creative, you can optionally customise its Tag settings before submission. Click the settings icon in the Actions column to open the tag configuration dialog.

Tag Name

By default, the Tag inherits the Creative's name. You can override this with a custom tag name for easier identification in reporting.

AdChoices Label

The Ad Notice (AdChoices icon) is enabled by default on all tags. This small overlay informs users that the content is an advertisement — a requirement for responsible advertising governance. You can disable it per tag if needed.

Tracking Pixels

Add additional impression and click tracking URLs to measure delivery through external systems:

• Impression pixels — fire when the ad is served. Use for third-party verification, attribution, or analytics.
• Click pixels — fire when the user clicks the ad. Use for conversion tracking or click-through attribution.

All tracking pixel URLs must use HTTPS. You can add multiple impression and click pixels per tag.

Destination URL Override

Override or extend the Creative's default click-through URL:

The destination URL has a maximum length of 1,000 characters. If no override is configured, the Tag uses the Creative's default click URL.

Edit Mode: Managing Existing Tags

When editing an existing Line Item, the Ads step displays two sections:

Existing Tags

A table listing all Tags currently associated with the Line Item. Each row shows:

Available actions for existing tags:

• Edit Settings — opens the tag configuration dialog to modify name, tracking pixels, destination URL, and AdChoices label.
• Pause / Resume — toggle the tag's active state. Pausing a tag stops it from serving without removing it from the Line Item.
• Preview — opens the tag in Adform's test environment in a new browser tab, letting you verify the creative renders correctly.

Use the Refresh button in the header to force-fetch the latest tag data from the server.

Add More Creatives

Below the existing tags section, you can select additional creatives to add to the Line Item. Creatives that are already associated (via existing tags) are automatically hidden to prevent duplicates.

Best Practices

• Verify click URLs — creatives without a click URL cannot be selected. Ensure all creatives have a valid destination set before reaching the Ads step.
• Use tracking pixels for attribution — add third-party impression pixels to reconcile delivery data between ad:personam and your external analytics or attribution platform.
• Keep AdChoices enabled — the ad notice label is an industry standard for transparency. Disable it only when the creative itself already includes a compliant disclosure.
• Preview before launch — in edit mode, use the Preview action to verify that tags render correctly in the Adform test environment.
• Name tags descriptively — if running multiple creatives in a single Line Item, custom tag names make it easier to identify performance by creative in reports.

Related Articles

• Campaign Setup Guide — full walkthrough of the Line Item setup wizard
• Settings — Frequency Capping, Consent, Placement, and Video — the next step after Ads in the wizard