The #1 Shopify Ad of 2026 (After $50M in Ad Spend)

Why UGC ads can help you scale in 2026, plus 4 examples from top brands.

It’s 2026, and with all the new AI technology flooding the market, you’d expect the “#1 ad of the year” to be something flashy.

It’s not.

It’s not AI-generated.
It’s not some VR gimmick.
And it’s not some cinematic masterpiece.

After roughly $50M in ad spend over the last 3 years, across multiple brands, platforms, and markets, Ezra Firestone’s #1 ad format of 2025 is still his most reliable winner in 2026:

Creator-style UGC ads.

This post breaks down what this ad is, why it keeps winning, and how Shopify brands of any size can use it to scale.

What a UGC Ad Is (and What It’s Not)

UGC stands for user-generated content, and it’s very different from branded content. UGC ads don’t feel like ads, and that’s the point.

What UGC Is 

• Real people
• Sharing real experiences
• In real environments

What UGC Is Not

• Polished video
• Perfect scripts
• What you say about your brand

When people see real customers talking in their own words, the message carries more weight than anything a brand can say about itself.

“People don’t care if you love your brand. People care if other people love your brand.”
— Ezra Firestone

Ezra’s #1 Ad Type of 2026  

Here are some examples of the UGC ad styles Ezra is running in his 9-figure Shopify store Boom Beauty: 

These UGC style ads consistently drive lower CPAs and better auction performance, and the reason is straightforward. Platforms reward creatives that feel native and earn real engagement. 

That’s why this content is so much cheaper to scale. And when Ezra ran this same style of creative as engagement ads, without a hard CTA, and the results were even better:

• 800,000 views
• $4,500 total ad spend
• $0.05 per 30-second video view

So this same UGC content is ideal for warming up cold audiences, too.

3 Real Examples Across the Industry

Brands like Gymshark, Glossier, and Native Deodorant, billion-dollar consumer brands with world-class marketing teams, have all converged on the same approach.

• Real people
• Talking directly to camera
• Sharing lived experience

Here are 3 real examples from of UGC ads from these top brands:

1. Glossier

2. Native Deodorant

3. Gymshark

You can see from these examples that this same ad format is being used across totally different products, audiences, and markets. 

And it’s not luck. 

This consistency is why it works for brands of any size, and why it can work for you, too.

The Simple UGC Ad Template

You can layer UGC-style content into ad frameworks you’re already using, like Problem-Agitation-Solution, or even paste it into ad videos you’re already running. 

But at a high level, UGC videos follow a simple structure like this.

The Basic UGC Framework

1. Hook
   A quick visual pattern interrupt in the first 1–2 seconds
2. Real Story
   A genuine problem, experience, or before-and-after moment told in the creator’s own words.
3. Outcome
   What changed after using the product.

Note: You want to design these videos to be watched with the sound-off, that means:

• Captions
• Text overlays
• Clear visual storytelling

Why UGC Works for Any Shopify Brand

Creator-style UGC works for newer brands, it’s the fastest way to build trust and stretch your ad budget. 

For established brands, it lowers acquisition costs and scales without a ton of production costs.

In both cases, the advantage is the same:

• Builds Trust
• Scales Cheaply
• Reusable across ads, PDPs, and sales pages

That’s why this format keeps winning, in 2025 and 2026.

See More Of Ezra’s Top Ads of 2026

If you want to see more of Ezra’s top performing campaigns, and what’s changed heading into this year, his free 2026 Shopify Kickstarter goes even deeper.

No pitch, just the complete playbook he’s using to scale his stores in 2026.

If paid ads matter to your business, this is a training you can’t ignore. 

Watch the Live Replay here!