Amazon Ads creative acceptance policy

What moderation checks before an ad runs. Amazon reviews every self-service ad before publication and asks for submission at least a week ahead of a launch date, because a rejection costs a full review cycle. Standard review runs up to 72 hours.

Contents: General requirements · Image content rules · Logo rules · Headline and copy rules · Claims, pricing, and promotions · Calls to action · Prohibited and restricted content · Landing pages and products · Language and localization · Review, enforcement, appeals

General requirements

Every ad must be suitable for a general audience, be honest about the product or service, avoid content that may mislead or offend customers, accurately reflect the product detail page, use the primary language of the marketplace, and promote only products the advertiser owns or is authorized to resell.

The stated purpose of moderation is to "ensure your ads are displayed at their best to make the most impact" — the reviewer is checking whether a shopper would be misled or put off, so read a borderline creative from that seat rather than looking for a literal rule to cite.

Image content rules

Quality. Images may not be crowded or cluttered, blurry, distorted, pixelated, smudged, or stretched. Use the highest resolution available; 72 ppi is the floor.

Product presentation. The product must be prominently displayed, either in use or on its own. For a custom or lifestyle image, an individual product on a solid or transparent background is not acceptable — that is a product image, not a lifestyle image. Show the brand as part of a positive life experience, keep the focus on the brand or one of its products, and avoid image collages.

No burned-in branding. No additional text beyond text that naturally occurs on product packaging. No brand logos or logo combinations inside a custom image. No calls to action. (The eCommerce REC program is the one exception — see 01-asset-specs.md.)

Backgrounds and framing. No white or transparent backgrounds on custom images. Ads without borders may not use white or off-white background colors, because the unit has to contrast with the page it sits on. No letterbox or pillarbox formats.

Overlays that fail on sight. Star ratings, customer reviews, prices, discounts, deal badges, Amazon marks or references to Amazon products, and fake functionality — anything that looks clickable but isn't.

Diversity. Use diverse models: people of all races, ages, body types, ethnicities, and gender identities.

Product images (ASIN images) inside Sponsored Brands ads must comply with Amazon's site standards for product images, and duplicate or identical product images within the same ad are not permitted.

Logo rules

The logo must be the brand's registered logo with legal rights to use it. It fills the entire image or sits on a white or transparent background, with text legible on mobile and desktop, and stays consistent across all ads. It may not combine multiple logos, sit on a complex graphical background, be a product image or ASIN, or act as a headline extension. Amazon reports desktop engagement up 20% and mobile up 13% when logos meet these requirements.

If the ad references Subscribe & Save, use the original, unadjusted logo and name.

Headline and copy rules

Capitalization. Sentence case only: "you should only capitalize the first word in a headline, sentence, any proper nouns, or trademarks." Title case, ALL CAPS, and mixed case are rejected.

Punctuation. Proper punctuation is required. Repeated question or exclamation marks and excessive ellipses — generally more than two instances per headline — are not allowed.

Special characters. Numerals, asterisks, @ signs, and periods used as letter substitutes are prohibited unless they are brand elements or standardized symbols ($ for currency, # for numbers or hashtags, AC/DC, AM/PM).

Prohibited copy. Superiority claims ("best", "biggest", "most") without substantiation; naming competitors (say "leading brand"); pressuring language ("Hurry while supplies last", "Don't miss out"); anything that contradicts the landing page; personal pronouns used in a way that reads as inappropriate; spelling and grammar errors.

Claims, pricing, and promotions

Savings language. No "Huge savings", "Gigantic discounts", or specific percentages such as "Save 50%". What is allowed: "[Product] savings", "Save now", "Great prices on [Product]", "Buy [Product] and get [additional Product] free".

Deals. The words "Deal" or "Deals" may appear only if the products carry an Amazon deal that is live for the campaign's duration.

Timing. Campaigns must be scheduled to end on or before the last day of the promotion. Holiday campaigns must start within a reasonable window and end within 24 hours after the event date.

Substantiation. Claims on the detail page, in the headline, and on the packaging all require proof.

Availability. Ads must not promote products that are out of stock or under recall. Pre-order ads are permitted when marked with a pre-order CTA.

Calls to action

For Sponsored Brands, a CTA is two to three words, direct and explicit, and not pressuring. "Act now", "Last chance", "Don't miss out" are prohibited, and so are non-specific CTAs like "Click here".

For display ads, do not create one at all: display ads dynamically incorporate CTA elements by default, so additional CTA buttons or text are not permitted.

Prohibited and restricted content

Prohibited: illegal content, dangerous or offensive material, e-cigarettes, sexually explicit products, prescription medicines by name, and profane or vulgar keywords.

Restricted, requiring specific compliance: health and weight-loss claims, healthcare products, and sensitive topics governed by regional or local guidelines.

Targeting matters too: keywords and targeted products must be relevant and must not produce an offensive, insensitive, or undesirable audience experience.

Full lists live in Amazon's sponsored ads policies under prohibited content, prohibited products, and restricted content.

Landing pages and products

The ad must accurately reflect its landing page. Mismatch between creative and destination is one of the most common rejection reasons, and it is judged on substance, not just wording.

Language and localization

Ads run in the primary language of the site where they appear. Official slogans and branding do not have to be translated. Amazon offers localization: text up to 1,000 characters within 10 days, and embedded video subtitles within 10 days, from a defined set of source and target languages, via Advertising console → Creatives → Creative services → Translations. Translated campaigns then go through review, up to 72 hours.

Review, enforcement, and appeals

Standard review takes up to 72 hours; translations usually complete within 24 hours of the default-language campaign launching. Assets can be pre-moderated in bulk before use, and the asset library can be filtered by moderation status.

Amazon reserves the right to reject, remove, or request modification of an ad at its sole discretion, and may suspend or terminate accounts for severe or repeated violations. Rejected ads receive an email explaining why.

None of this is legal advice; advertisers must comply with applicable laws and industry standards in every geography where the ads appear, and Amazon publishes an ad policy change log worth checking periodically.

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Provenance: Amazon Ads, "A complete guide to Sponsored Brands and display ads moderation" (library/guides/sponsored-brands-display-ads-moderation), with specification detail from resources/ad-specs sub-pages, captured 2026-09-03. Amazon's resources/ad-policy/sponsored-ads-policies and ad-policy/creative-acceptance pages are the authoritative source for the prohibited and restricted lists; consult them directly for a category decision.