UGC-style ad without a creator: close-camera or usage demo?

Use sume-close-camera-ugc when the ad should feel like a handheld selfie recommendation, and sume-product-usage-demo when the ad should show one real action, texture or result. Both are Formats by Sume, so any key with the formats:write scope can call them at the reserved sume handle, and the run and its spend belong to your key.

Neither is a way to fake a customer. A UGC-style ad made by a tool is an ad, and it should be labeled and written as one.

What each Format is for

The catalog lists both slugs; the looks below are how I read their names, so open each Format before you rely on one. Close-camera UGC makes a finished video with a handheld selfie shot, direct eye contact and a product-led hook, for close-up testimonials and creator reactions. Product usage demo makes a finished video showing one real action, texture or result in a casual setting, for application, unbox-and-use or hands-on demos.

A small shop with a product that is easy to hold and use, such as a candle, a cleaning gel or a tool, usually wants the demo. A shop whose pitch is a person saying why it works wants the selfie. Read each Format with GET /v1/formats/sume/{slug} first, because the io profile tells you whether it takes a URL, text, an image or a product.

Call one

Put the product facts in input, attach product photos (up to 30 images), and say in the instruction what the ad must not claim. Send an Idempotency-Key on every create, and set generation_spend_cap_usd so one run cannot surprise you.

The 202 response gives status_url and result_url. Poll status, then fetch the result.

curl -sS -X POST "https://api.sume.com/v1/formats/sume/sume-product-usage-demo/runs" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SUME_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: gel-demo-001" \
  -d '{
    "instruction": "Vertical 9:16. Show the gel being applied to a countertop stain. Do not claim it removes every stain.",
    "input": { "product_name": "Example Cleaning Gel" },
    "attachments": [ { "type": "input_image", "image_url": "https://example.com/gel.jpg" } ],
    "generation_spend_cap_usd": 10
  }'

Guardrails for a UGC-style ad

A roundup of this month's trends lists synchronized audio and consistent characters as the features that made generated video usable (AI Video Generation Trends, read 2026-10-07). That is a reason to test, not a reason to skip review.

Never write a testimonial in the first person that claims a result nobody had, never give the presenter a real person's name, and follow the ad platform's rules on synthetic media. Sume does not apply those rules for you.

Revise instead of restarting

If the first take is close, send a new call with previous_run_id and a changed instruction, such as a shorter hook. That continues the same run as another turn instead of a fresh start.