Let’s be honest for a second.
Meta didn’t just update their ad system — they detonated the old playbook, swept up the pieces, and built Andromeda (Advantage+) on top of the ashes.
And guess what?
If you’re still running creative tests like it’s 2021, you’re burning money. Quietly. Consistently. Painfully.
I know because I used to teach the exact strategies that no longer work.
For years, my advice was simple:
Separate videos and images. Keep ad sets clean. Organize like your life depends on it.
That was the right move — back then.
But in the Andromeda era?
It’s not just outdated. It’s harmful.
Let me show you what’s working now — and why it’s delivering more stability, more scale, and far less drama inside client accounts.
The New Meta Ads Creative Testing Strategy (2025 -2026 Edition)
Here’s the big, uncomfortable truth:
Creative variety isn’t optional anymore. It’s the new currency.
Across dozens of ad accounts, the highest-performing setup has been surprisingly consistent:
👉 20–30 creatives inside a single ad set
Not three.
Not five.
Not “one hero ad and a few backups.”
I mean an entire buffet of angles, visuals, hooks, formats, and sizes.
Andromeda rewards advertisers who give it choice.
More variety = more optimization pathways = more stable results.
It sounds chaotic, but stay with me — because it works.
Why Creative Variety Is Critical in the Andromeda Era
Meta’s algorithm cares about one thing above all else:
liquidity — the freedom to place the right creative in front of the right person at the right time.
When you give the system:
- more formats
- more ratios
- more hooks
- more visual styles
…it doesn’t get confused.
It gets smarter.
It starts matching creatives to placements, placements to users, and users to behaviors in ways we simply can’t manually engineer.
This is why advertisers limiting themselves to 3–5 creatives see wild swings in performance.
The system has nowhere to go.
Nothing else to test.
No backups.
Andromeda isn’t built to thrive in restrictive environments.
It needs space.
The Old Meta Ads Creative Testing Method Is Officially Dead
I’ll say it plainly:
The old “never mix formats” rule is a fossil.
Old method:
- Videos in one ad set
- Images in another
- No mixing, ever
Why?
Videos historically dominated spend due to more available placements.
New method with Andromeda:
- Mix videos AND images
- Mix all formats
- Mix all aspect ratios
- One consolidated ad set
And the shocker?
It works beautifully.
Budget distributes. Both formats get spend. Both perform.
The algorithm finally knows what to do with variety.
The 3 Aspect Ratios You MUST Include in Meta Ads Creative Testing
This is non-negotiable if you want stability.
1️⃣ 1:1 (Square)
Works on almost every placement.
Still one of the top performers for feed placements.
2️⃣ 9:16 (Vertical)
Reels and Stories are exploding in impression share.
If you’re not using vertical creative, you’re invisible.
3️⃣ 4:5 (Tall Rectangle)
This one is underrated — and deadly effective.
It takes up more screen space on mobile feeds.
Together, these three ratios give Meta maximum flexibility.
One creative concept becomes three high-impact variations, tripling your optimization surface with minimal added effort.
(Pro tip: We do this on YouTube too. If a concept wins, it gets re-edited into Shorts, 1:1, and 16:9.)
Placement Strategy: What Actually Works in 2025
Here’s our exact setup:
👉 Automatic Placements (100% of the time)
Meta is better at placing creatives than humans.
Reels, Stories, Feed, Video, Search — let the algorithm decide.
One exception:
Audience Network.
Bot traffic has been weird.
Android spikes. Strange sessions. Unexpected clicks.
We disable it only when we see suspicious behavior in breakdowns.
Everything else stays open.
The combination of:
- multiple formats
- multiple ratios
- automatic placements
…gives Meta full optimization freedom. And that’s where stability comes from.
Why This Approach Creates More Stable Campaigns (The Real Reason)
Advertisers love blaming the algorithm for volatility.
But nine times out of ten?
It’s not the algorithm.
It’s your lack of creative volume.
Here’s what stability actually requires:
- High creative variety
- Broad targeting
- Multiple aspect ratios
- Mixed ad formats
- Fresh creatives added weekly
This gives Andromeda:
- more audience liquidity
- more placements to test
- more creative-to-user pairing options
- more fallback options when creative fatigue sets in
The result?
👉 Less day-to-day volatility
👉 More consistent CPA
👉 Longer-lasting winners
👉 Smoother scaling
It’s not magic — it’s math.
The Two-Campaign System (Still the Best Structure in 2025)
This is the system we use for nearly every account.
Campaign 1: The Testing Campaign
- 20–30 creatives
- Broad targeting
- Automatic placements
- Mixed formats & ratios
- Daily or weekly refreshes
Purpose: Identify new winners fast.
Campaign 2: The Scaling Campaign (Advantage+ Sales)
- Only top performers
- Same Post IDs
- Larger budgets
- Minimal changes
Purpose: Scale what already works.
This ensures:
Testing never stops.
Scaling never stalls.
Creatives never burn out.
It’s the closest thing to a self-healing system you’ll find in Meta ads.
How to Execute This Creative Testing Strategy (Step-by-Step)
Step 1: Start with one winning creative concept
Strong message. Clear hook. Tight angle.
Step 2: Build it in all three ratios
✔ 1:1
✔ 9:16
✔ 4:5
Step 3: Create variations
Change colors. Hooks. Layouts. Patterns.
Step 4: Launch 20–30 versions in the Testing Campaign
Step 5: Wait 5–7 days
Identify winners based on:
- CPA
- CTR
- Hold time
- Engagement
- Cost per view (CPV)
Step 6: Move winners to the Scaling Campaign
Step 7: Keep testing in Campaign 1 every single week
Never stop the pipeline.
Consistency > perfection.
The AI Tools That Make Producing 20–30 Creatives Easy
You don’t need a massive team.
You need the right workflow.
We use AI to:
- generate new variations quickly
- create new hooks and angles
- reformat creatives into all ratios
- expand one idea into 15+ testable versions
- keep the creative pipeline flowing weekly
Not to replace human creativity —
but to accelerate it.
The real bottleneck is volume.
AI solves that.
FAQs: Meta Ads Creative Testing in the Andromeda/Advantage+ Era
1. How many creatives should I test in Meta ads?
20–30 per ad set is the new standard for stable performance.
2. Should you mix images and videos in Meta ads?
Yes. Andromeda performs far better when formats are mixed.
3. What aspect ratios work best for Meta ads creative testing?
1:1, 9:16, and 4:5 — use all three.
4. Do Advantage+ campaigns still need creative testing?
Absolutely. Use a separate Testing Campaign to feed your Advantage+ Scaling Campaign.
5. Should I turn off Audience Network?
Only if you detect suspicious traffic. Always confirm via breakdowns.
6. How often should I refresh creatives?
Weekly is ideal. Fortnightly at minimum.
Conclusion: Give Andromeda What It Wants — Variety
Meta ads changed.
The advertisers who adapt are scaling faster and more consistently than ever before.
The ones who cling to the old playbook?
They’re stuck dealing with unstable campaigns, volatile CPAs, and creative burnout.
If you want stability in 2025:
- Test 20–30 creatives
- Mix videos + images
- Build in 1:1, 9:16, and 4:5
- Use automatic placements
- Keep creative flowing every week
And ask yourself:
Are you feeding the algorithm variety — or starving it with old habits?