Direct response template specs

Direct response
template variations

Direct response template ads can run in-article and in-feed on Apple News. When choosing this ad format, you must choose one of the following five variations:

  • Brand – Center Image

  • Brand – Right Image

  • Brand – Left Image

  • News Article – Right Image

  • News Article – Left Image

The three brand variants support external URL destinations, and the two News article variants are available for ads with Apple News Format (ANF) destinations.

Ad creation for the brand variants require an image upload and allows you to customize copy to support the URL destination. For the News article variants, an Article ID for the ANF destination is required — no content upload is required, as it’s auto-generated using contents of the article.

For iPhone, iPad, and Mac, the brand – center image asset requirement is 1200 x 628 pixels. The ad title has a 90 character maximum. The maximum file size is 500 KB.

The brand – right and brand – left assets require a 4:5 ratio. The ad title has a 150 character maximum. The maximum file size is 500 KB.

Note that portrait orientation asset will be used and will be pillar-boxed when the Apple News app is in the landscape orientation mode.

Examples of Direct response template variations on an iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Note that iPad may include Apple Vision Pro devices.

Brand variant specifications

The three brand variant options are available for ads with supported external URL destinations (see below). Ad creation for the brand variants requires an image upload and allows you to customize the copy.

Enter text for the title of the ad, with a maximum of 150 characters for right and left image variants, and a maximum of 90 characters for the center variant.

There are multiple predefined CTA options to choose from:

  • Learn More

  • Download Now

  • View More

  • Buy Now

  • Read More

  • Subscribe Now

French CTAs are also available when creating an ad in French language.

For brand-left images, the hero image is on the left, the ad copy is to the right of the image, and the CTA is beneath the ad copy. For brand-center images, the hero image is at the top, the ad copy is below the image, and the CTA is beneath the ad copy. The content safe area is 1200 x 340 pixels. For brand-right images, the hero image is on the right, the ad copy is to the left of the image, and the CTA is beneath the ad copy.

News article variant specifications

The two News article variants are available for ads with Apple News Format (ANF) destinations.

For the News article variants, an Article ID for the ANF destination is required. No content upload is required, as it’s auto-generated using contents of the article, and includes a hero image, publisher logo, and copy headline.

If the user transitions to Dark Mode, the colors of the direct response template ad will shift automatically. In Dark Mode, the publisher logo will be presented in all-white against a dark background.

For news article-left images, the image is on the left, the publisher logo is to the right of the image, and the ad copy is beneath the publisher logo. For news article-right images, the image is on the right, the publisher logo is to the left of the image, and the ad copy is beneath the publisher logo.