Creative Manifests

Complete guide to AdCP creative manifest structure, asset types, and validation.

Overview

AdCP creative manifests provide a standardized way to describe creative assets and their requirements. Instead of sending pre-assembled markup, bidders provide a manifest that publishers use to assemble and render the creative.

Manifest Structure

AdCP creative manifests follow a standardized structure where assets are keyed by asset_id:

{
  "format_id": {
    "agent_url": "https://creative.adcontextprotocol.org",
    "id": "display_300x250"
  },
  "promoted_offering": "Spring Sale Collection",
  "assets": {
    "banner_image": {
      "url": "https://cdn.brand.com/banner.jpg",
      "width": 300,
      "height": 250,
      "format": "jpg"
    },
    "headline": {
      "content": "50% Off Spring Sale"
    },
    "clickthrough_url": {
      "url": "https://brand.com/spring?campaign={MEDIA_BUY_ID}"
    },
    "impression_tracker": {
      "url": "https://track.brand.com/imp?buy={MEDIA_BUY_ID}&cb={CACHEBUSTER}"
    }
  }
}

Root-Level Fields

Field	Type	Required	Description
format_id	object	Yes	Format identifier matching request
format_id.agent_url	string	Yes	Creative agent URL
format_id.id	string	Yes	Format ID
promoted_offering	string	No	Product/service being advertised
assets	object	Yes	Creative assets keyed by asset_id

Asset Structure

Assets are keyed by asset_id (which matches the format's assets_required array). Each asset has type-specific fields:

Image Assets

{
  "banner_image": {
    "url": "https://cdn.brand.com/banner.jpg",
    "width": 300,
    "height": 250,
    "format": "jpg",
    "alt_text": "Spring Sale Banner"
  }
}

Fields:

Field	Type	Required	Description
url	string	Yes	Image URL
width	integer	Yes	Image width in pixels
height	integer	Yes	Image height in pixels
format	string	Yes	Image format (jpg, png, gif)
alt_text	string	No	Alternative text for accessibility

Text Assets

{
  "headline": {
    "content": "50% Off Spring Sale"
  },
  "description": {
    "content": "Limited time offer on all spring items"
  }
}

Fields:

Field	Type	Required	Description
content	string	Yes	Text content

URL Assets

{
  "clickthrough_url": {
    "url": "https://brand.com/spring?campaign={MEDIA_BUY_ID}"
  }
}

Fields:

Field	Type	Required	Description
url	string	Yes	URL (may include universal macros)

Tracking Assets

{
  "impression_tracker": {
    "url": "https://track.brand.com/imp?buy={MEDIA_BUY_ID}&cb={CACHEBUSTER}"
  },
  "click_tracker": {
    "url": "https://track.brand.com/click?buy={MEDIA_BUY_ID}&cb={CACHEBUSTER}"
  }
}

Fields:

Field	Type	Required	Description
url	string	Yes	Tracking URL (may include macros)

Complete Example

Display Banner Manifest

{
  "format_id": {
    "agent_url": "https://creative.adcontextprotocol.org",
    "id": "display_728x90"
  },
  "promoted_offering": "Premium Travel Package",
  "assets": {
    "banner_image": {
      "url": "https://cdn.travel.com/banner-728x90.jpg",
      "width": 728,
      "height": 90,
      "format": "jpg",
      "alt_text": "Luxury beach resort"
    },
    "headline": {
      "content": "Escape to Paradise"
    },
    "description": {
      "content": "All-inclusive luxury resort from $299/night"
    },
    "clickthrough_url": {
      "url": "https://travel.com/resort?campaign={MEDIA_BUY_ID}&device={DEVICE_TYPE}"
    },
    "impression_tracker": {
      "url": "https://track.travel.com/imp?buy={MEDIA_BUY_ID}&cb={CACHEBUSTER}"
    },
    "click_tracker": {
      "url": "https://track.travel.com/click?buy={MEDIA_BUY_ID}&cb={CACHEBUSTER}"
    }
  }
}

Native Ad Manifest

{
  "format_id": {
    "agent_url": "https://creative.adcontextprotocol.org",
    "id": "native_article"
  },
  "promoted_offering": "Smart Home Security System",
  "assets": {
    "title": {
      "content": "Protect Your Home with AI-Powered Security"
    },
    "description": {
      "content": "24/7 monitoring with facial recognition and instant alerts"
    },
    "main_image": {
      "url": "https://cdn.security.com/product.jpg",
      "width": 1200,
      "height": 628,
      "format": "jpg",
      "alt_text": "Smart security camera"
    },
    "icon": {
      "url": "https://cdn.security.com/logo.png",
      "width": 100,
      "height": 100,
      "format": "png",
      "alt_text": "SecureHome logo"
    },
    "sponsor": {
      "content": "SecureHome"
    },
    "cta_text": {
      "content": "Learn More"
    },
    "clickthrough_url": {
      "url": "https://securehome.com/product?campaign={MEDIA_BUY_ID}"
    },
    "impression_tracker": {
      "url": "https://track.securehome.com/imp?buy={MEDIA_BUY_ID}&cb={CACHEBUSTER}"
    }
  }
}

Bid Response Integration

Creative manifests are included in bid responses within bid.ext.aura.adcpFormat:

{
  "bid": {
    "id": "bid-001",
    "impid": "imp-1",
    "price": 2.5,
    "adm": "<a href='https://brand.com'><img src='https://cdn.com/banner.jpg'/></a>",
    "ext": {
      "aura": {
        "adcpFormat": {
          "formatId": {
            "agent_url": "https://creative.adcontextprotocol.org",
            "id": "display_300x250"
          },
          "creativeManifest": {
            "format_id": {
              "agent_url": "https://creative.adcontextprotocol.org",
              "id": "display_300x250"
            },
            "promoted_offering": "Product Name",
            "assets": {
              "banner_image": {
                "url": "https://cdn.brand.com/banner.jpg",
                "width": 300,
                "height": 250,
                "format": "jpg"
              },
              "clickthrough_url": {
                "url": "https://brand.com/product?campaign={MEDIA_BUY_ID}"
              },
              "impression_tracker": {
                "url": "https://track.brand.com/imp?buy={MEDIA_BUY_ID}&cb={CACHEBUSTER}"
              }
            }
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Validation

Publishers should validate creative manifests against format definitions:

1. Format ID Validation

function validateFormatId(manifest, requestedFormats) {
  const formatId = `${manifest.format_id.agent_url}/${manifest.format_id.id}`
  const requested = requestedFormats.map(f => `${f.agent_url}/${f.id}`)

  if (!requested.includes(formatId)) {
    throw new Error(`Format ${formatId} not requested`)
  }
}

2. Required Assets Validation

function validateRequiredAssets(manifest, formatDefinition) {
  const requiredAssets = formatDefinition.assets_required
    .filter(a => a.required)
    .map(a => a.asset_id)

  for (const assetId of requiredAssets) {
    if (!manifest.assets[assetId]) {
      throw new Error(`Required asset ${assetId} missing`)
    }
  }
}

3. Asset Type Validation

function validateAssetTypes(manifest, formatDefinition) {
  for (const [assetId, asset] of Object.entries(manifest.assets)) {
    const assetDef = formatDefinition.assets_required.find(
      a => a.asset_id === assetId
    )

    if (!assetDef) {
      console.warn(`Unknown asset ${assetId}`)
      continue
    }

    // Validate based on asset type
    switch (assetDef.asset_type) {
      case 'image':
        validateImageAsset(asset, assetDef.requirements)
        break
      case 'text':
        validateTextAsset(asset, assetDef.requirements)
        break
      case 'url':
        validateUrlAsset(asset)
        break
    }
  }
}

4. Image Asset Validation

function validateImageAsset(asset, requirements) {
  // Check dimensions
  if (requirements.width && asset.width !== requirements.width) {
    throw new Error(
      `Image width ${asset.width} doesn't match required ${requirements.width}`
    )
  }

  if (requirements.height && asset.height !== requirements.height) {
    throw new Error(
      `Image height ${asset.height} doesn't match required ${requirements.height}`
    )
  }

  // Check format
  if (
    requirements.acceptable_formats &&
    !requirements.acceptable_formats.includes(asset.format)
  ) {
    throw new Error(`Image format ${asset.format} not acceptable`)
  }

  // Check URL is valid
  if (!isValidUrl(asset.url)) {
    throw new Error(`Invalid image URL: ${asset.url}`)
  }
}

Brand Manifest

Brand Manifests provide brand identity and context for creative generation. They can be included inline or referenced by URL.

Inline Brand Manifest

{
  "brand_manifest": {
    "url": "https://mybrand.com",
    "name": "My Brand",
    "colors": {
      "primary": "#FF6B35",
      "secondary": "#004E89"
    },
    "fonts": {
      "primary": "Helvetica Neue",
      "secondary": "Georgia"
    },
    "tone": "professional and trustworthy",
    "tagline": "Innovation You Can Trust"
  }
}

Brand Manifest by URL Reference

{
  "brand_manifest": "https://cdn.mybrand.com/brand-manifest.json"
}

Minimal Brand Manifest

{
  "brand_manifest": {
    "url": "https://mybrand.com"
  }
}

Best Practices

1. Always Provide Fallback

Include standard OpenRTB adm field as fallback:

{
  "bid": {
    "adm": "<a href='...'><img src='...'/></a>",
    "ext": {
      "aura": {
        "adcpFormat": {
          "creativeManifest": {
            /* ... */
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

2. Validate Before Sending

Validate manifests against format definitions before including in bid responses:

function validateManifest(manifest, formatDefinition) {
  validateFormatId(manifest, formatDefinition)
  validateRequiredAssets(manifest, formatDefinition)
  validateAssetTypes(manifest, formatDefinition)
  return true
}

4. Optimize Asset URLs

Use CDN URLs for all assets to ensure fast loading:

{
  "banner_image": {
    "url": "https://cdn.brand.com/banner.jpg" // ✅ CDN URL
  }
}

5. Include Alt Text

Always include alt text for images for accessibility:

{
  "banner_image": {
    "url": "https://cdn.brand.com/banner.jpg",
    "alt_text": "Luxury beach resort with palm trees"
  }
}

Next Steps

• Tracking - Tracking implementation
• Format Support - Declaring format support
• Contextual Weaving Format - AI-native format details