Snapchat single video ad: 25-char brand, 34-char headline, 720x1280

Snapchat's single image or video ad format is listed at 9:16, 720 x 1280, MP4 or MOV, 3 to 180 seconds, with a brand name of up to 25 characters and a headline of up to 34 characters. In Sume, render a 720 x 1280 clip in Timeline 1.0 and keep the two text fields in your own copy sheet, because Sume does not write them into the video.

The figures are quoted from Snapchat's ad specs page (read 2026-10-10). The same page says this is the format most recommended for new advertisers, and that it works in Stories and Spotlight placements.

What the Snapchat page lists

For the single image or video ad, the page lists the aspect ratio as 9:16, the resolution as 720x1280, the file types as mp4, mov, jpg or png, and the length as 3 to 180 seconds. For copy it lists the brand up to 25 characters with spaces and the headline up to 34 characters with spaces.

Making the video side with Sume

Timeline 1.0 accepts output.width and output.height as even integers from 256 to 2160, so 720 x 1280 is a valid render size. The default is 1080 x 1920, which has the same 9:16 shape, so a default render is also acceptable on shape alone; check whether you want the lower resolution the page names. The audio length can run from 1 to 1800 seconds, which comfortably covers Snapchat's 3 to 180 second window.

Set the fit mode to cover on each slot when the source is not already vertical. Cover crops the overflow and fills the frame, where contain would leave bars. For a clip that is already vertical but too long, a video trim with an exact range is the cleaner tool at $0.02 per job, and the result reports the real duration_seconds.

The copy side stays with you

Brand and headline are fields in Snapchat's ad builder, not pixels in the video. Sume has no step that writes them, and I did not find any in the docs I read. If you also want text on screen, the Video captions API can burn authored overlay text from cues with a text, a start and an end, onto a public HTTPS video URL. That is a separate job from the 25 and 34 character fields, and it does not count against them.

A quick way to avoid rejects is to keep a three-column sheet: the file name, its measured duration_seconds, and the two copy strings with their character counts. Counting with spaces matters because the page says so.

• Brand: count to 25 with spaces.
• Headline: count to 34 with spaces.
• Length: keep 3 to 180 seconds; trim or plan with Sume to confirm.

Reading the page without over-claiming

Two things on Snapchat's page are easy to over-read. The page lists a single resolution, 720x1280, and does not say here whether a larger 9:16 frame is accepted or scaled, so do not assume either. It also does not describe a file size limit for this format in the figures I fetched, so I am not quoting one. If you need a size cap, find it on Snapchat's own page for your placement rather than borrowing another platform's number.

The page also calls this the format most recommended for new advertisers. That is Snapchat's recommendation, not a guarantee of results, and it says nothing about AI-generated footage specifically.

Check before you upload

Run the Timeline plan call first. It is unbilled and returns the planned duration and segment count, so you can confirm the length lands in the window before spending $0.10 per output minute on the render. The plan cannot predict warnings for short sources that get padded or looped, so read warnings on the real result.