Motion Ads Alternative: Meta Ad Library Research

Create a compact, structured creative-research report from public Meta Ad Library records for a named advertiser. Each dataset row is one grouped creative concept with its observed hook, headline variants, CTA mix, media mix, observed run length, and links back to the public source ads.

Best fit

Use this Actor when you need a reproducible competitor-research snapshot for a known advertiser and want machine-readable output for a spreadsheet, brief, or workflow. Start with an exact Meta page ID where possible; an advertiser name is supported but can resolve less precisely.

For public advertiser research, this Actor keeps the workflow deliberately source-linked and bounded. Motion is better suited to connected-account performance, attribution, team review, historical workspaces, and cross-channel analytics; this Actor never connects to a Meta ad account.

Input

{
  "advertisers": ["100281786832302", "Nike"],
  "country": "US",
  "activeStatus": "ACTIVE",
  "maxAdsPerAdvertiser": 20,
  "maxPagesPerAdvertiser": 3,
  "provider": "auto"
}

Enter at least one advertiser. Numeric values are treated as page IDs; other values are treated as exact advertiser names. maxAdsPerAdvertiser is the upstream collection cap, not a promise of how many unique concepts exist.

Output

One dataset row represents a public creative concept, not a performance claim. Stable fields include:

Field	Meaning
conceptId	Stable hash of advertiser, media type, hook, and CTA grouping.
hook	First observed words of the public creative copy.
callsToAction / mediaMix	Observed CTA and media/platform variation within the concept.
longestObservedRunDays	Duration derived from public start/end dates when they are available.
sourceAdUrls / provenance	Public Meta Ad Library source links, provider route, and collection time.

The OUTPUT key is the compact terminal contract. RUN_SUMMARY contains counts, provider diagnostics, event charges, and one of COMPLETE, PARTIAL, VALID_EMPTY, INVALID_INPUT, UPSTREAM_FAILED, or CONFIG_ERROR.

Example persisted creative insight:

{
  "conceptId": "4efb972a26d3f0c7",
  "advertiserPageId": "100281786832302",
  "advertiserName": "Example Brand",
  "adCount": 2,
  "activeAdCount": 2,
  "hook": "Stop scrolling save time with this simple daily routine",
  "callsToAction": ["Shop now"],
  "mediaMix": ["VIDEO", "FACEBOOK", "INSTAGRAM"],
  "longestObservedRunDays": 18,
  "sourceAdUrls": ["https://www.facebook.com/ads/library?id=1234567890123"],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "Meta Ad Library public data via provider API",
    "provider": "scrapecreators",
    "collectedAt": "ISO-8601 timestamp recorded by this run"
  }
}

Price and limits

This Actor uses Pay per event pricing: one persisted creative-insight is configured at $0.02, plus Apify platform usage. A run also has the standard $0.00005 start event. For example, 10 persisted insight records have $0.20 in configured insight events plus the $0.00005 start event and platform usage. Event limits set on the run cap persisted output; public-provider availability and the requested advertiser determine the actual number of concepts. Treat the live Actor Pricing tab as the current source of truth for effective pricing and platform-usage terms.

How this workflow compares with Motion

This Actor is a focused alternative for public advertiser creative research. Motion remains the broader choice for connected-account creative analytics, ad leaderboards, AI workspaces, attribution integrations, and team collaboration.

Decision	This Actor	Motion	Best fit
Scope	Public Meta advertiser concepts with source-ad provenance	Broader creative-analytics suite	Use this Actor for a bounded public competitor snapshot.
Billing	Configured per persisted insight plus Apify usage	Subscription plans based on ad-spend bands	Use on-demand data work for a defined report; use Motion for the suite.
Input friction	A named advertiser page ID or name	Connected ad-account workflow for owned-data analytics	Use this Actor when no account connection is required.
Output contract	Typed dataset rows and terminal JSON records	Visual reports, creative analytics, and suite features	Use this Actor when a downstream workflow needs source-linked JSON.
Efficiency	One bounded input produces a grouped, exportable public-data report	Broader suite workflows include dashboard and collaboration surfaces	No measured same-job speed or cost claim is made before cloud evidence.
Automation	Re-runnable Actor input through Apify API and schedules	Motion AI routines and reports	Choose based on the workflow and operational surface you need.
Broader analytics	Outside this Actor’s scope	Creative analytics with GA4 and Northbeam integrations	Choose Motion for owned-account, attribution, or team reporting.

Motion is a trademark of its owner. This independent Actor is not affiliated, associated, or endorsed by Motion.

API example

After creating an Apify token, run the Actor with the regular API and retrieve the default dataset from the resulting run:

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/khadinakbar~motion-ads-alternative/runs?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"advertisers":["100281786832302"],"country":"US","maxAdsPerAdvertiser":20}'

Keep API tokens and provider credentials out of inputs, datasets, and logs. Configure SCRAPECREATORS_API_KEY or SOCIAVAULT_API_KEY as an encrypted Actor environment secret.

Agent prompt card

Ask an Apify-connected AI agent through MCP: “Create a public Meta creative-research report for advertiser page ID 100281786832302 in the US. Return the hook, CTA mix, media mix, observed duration, and source ad links as research signals.”

The agent should ask a follow-up when an advertiser, country, freshness need, or output goal is missing. It should route owned-account analytics, attribution, team reporting, or broad creative operations to a product designed for those workflows. Hosted-MCP and client-specific routing behavior should be validated with the target agent client before relying on a particular integration pattern.

Freshness, responsible use, and reliability

Every row carries a provider label, collection timestamp, and direct public-source links. Meta can change public availability, fields, and country coverage at any time, so rerun the Actor when you need a current snapshot. The release-evidence file records the audited build, provider fallback behavior, output contract, and charge reconciliation for this Actor.

Use public advertising information solely for lawful research, in line with applicable platform terms, privacy rules, local law, and appropriate rights. The result is designed for aggregate creative research rather than individual targeting, performance claims, or unlicensed reproduction.

Focused standalone workflow

This Actor is designed as a focused standalone workflow. It has no verified public sibling link yet; it is designed to supply a clean source-linked input to an existing creative brief, ad-review, analytics, or warehouse workflow rather than become an all-in-one advertising dashboard.

Builder's note

I designed this Actor around grouped creative concepts rather than a raw-ad dump so the output remains short enough for a brief while retaining every public source-ad link. Public activity duration, repeated copy, and media variation are useful research signals alongside a separate performance-analysis workflow.