Creative fatigue: what 1.2 billion impressions tell us

Every ad wears out eventually. The question is when, and whether you can see it coming. We analysed 1.2 billion impressions across 38,000 ad variants to find out how quickly creative fatigues and which signals move first.

How long ads last

The median ad reached its peak click-through rate after 4 days and fell 30% below that peak by day 17. Short-form video faded fastest, with a median useful life of 12 days. Static images lasted 19 days and carousel ads 23 days, largely because viewers engage with different cards on repeat exposure.

Median click-through rate by day since launch, indexed to peak. Most ads lose 30% of their peak by day 17.

Frequency is the main driver

Fatigue tracked frequency far more closely than calendar time. Once the average viewer had seen an ad more than 3.5 times in a week, click-through rate fell sharply regardless of format. Broad audiences delayed fatigue, while tightly defined retargeting audiences reached that threshold in as little as five days.

The earliest warning signs

Cost per acquisition is a lagging indicator. By the time it rises, performance has usually been declining for several days. In our data, three signals moved earlier.

Thumb-stop rate, the share of viewers who pause on a video, dropped first, on average 4 days before CPA moved. Click-through rate followed about 2 days later. Conversion rate on the landing page held steady throughout, which tells us fatigue is a problem of attention, not intent.

Cost per acquisition tells you fatigue has already happened. Thumb-stop rate tells you it is about to.

What to do about it

Plan creative in waves, not one-offs. Teams that launched new variants every 10 to 14 days kept CPAs 16% lower than teams that refreshed only when performance dropped. Rotate formats, not just messages, and cap weekly frequency on retargeting audiences.

• Launch new variants every 10 to 14 days, before performance drops.

• Rotate formats as well as messages: video, static and carousel.

• Cap weekly frequency on retargeting audiences at around three.

• Watch thumb-stop rate daily, because it moves days before CPA.

Reticle’s creative scoring flags variants whose thumb-stop rate is declining, so you can brief the next wave before costs rise. It is included in the Growth plan, and you can compare plans on our pricing page.