AdSwipeFile

Refreshed Nov 12, 2026

The Athletic ads

The hooks, angles and offers behind The Athletic’s Facebook and Instagram ads, filed by format and niche.

Live on Meta nowOn The Athletic’s Meta page
232
Median runHow long its ads stay up
35 days
Against Entertainment / MediaNiche median 9 days
3.9×

The messages The Athletic keeps paying for

Same idea, new creatives

  • “LEVEL UP. AND SAVE”

    3 ads
    The Athletic ad: “LEVEL UP. AND SAVE”The Athletic ad: “LEVEL UP. AND SAVE”

    Running since Sep 2026.

  • “What failed on the field?”

    3 ads

    Running since Nov 2026.

How The Athletic builds them

43 ads

What The Athletic's ads are made of, row by row.

Free with an account.

Longest running

All 43

The The Athletic ads that ran longest.

Free with an account.

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Winning means kept running: brands rarely keep paying for ads that lose.

43 ads

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A close-up photograph of an American football player wearing a helmet and jersey. The player is looking directly at the camera with a serious, intense expression. The background is a blurred, warm-toned stadium setting.
Active · 118 days
The Athletic
A medium shot of two professional football coaches standing on a field during a game. Both men are wearing team-branded hoodies and baseball caps, looking toward the field with thoughtful expressions. The background shows a blurred stadium crowd.
Active · 97 days
The Athletic
A dark, stylized image features a faint, monochromatic photograph of a hockey player in the background. Large, bold white letters 'NY' dominate the center of the frame, flanked by two blue plus signs. Below this, white and blue text highlights the brand's focus on team coverage and expert analysis.
Active · 66 days
The Athletic
A dark-toned static image features a large, bold 'NY' in the center, overlaid on a stylized, monochromatic silhouette of a basketball player taking a shot. The brand name appears at the top, while two blue plus signs flank the central text. Below the main text, a sentence describes the brand's coverage, followed by a blue line highlighting expert analysis.
Active · 66 days
The Athletic
A dark purple graphic features a high-contrast orange illustration of a soccer player's legs and a ball on the right side. Large white text dominates the left side, with the brand name at the top and a call to action at the bottom. The overall design is bold and uses a limited color palette.
Active · 66 days
The Athletic
A dark green static image features a stylized, high-contrast photograph of a football player catching a ball. Large, bold white text in the center reads 'NY', flanked by two green plus signs. Below this, smaller white and green text describes the brand's coverage.
Active · 66 days
The Athletic
A dark purple background features a high-contrast orange illustration of a hand holding a baseball on the right side. Large white text in the center reads a call to action to improve knowledge and save money. Below this, smaller orange and white text highlights the nature of the sports coverage and provides a subscription prompt.
Active · 66 days
The Athletic
A dark blue graphic features a stylized, semi-transparent image of a basketball player shooting a ball. Large white text in the center displays 'SF', flanked by two bright yellow plus signs. Below this, white and yellow text describes the brand's coverage of local sports teams.
Active · 66 days
The Athletic
A dark green graphic features a stylized, monochrome illustration of a basketball player shooting a ball in the background. Large white text in the center reads 'BOS' flanked by two green plus signs. Below this, white and green text describes the brand's coverage and expertise.
Active · 66 days
The Athletic
A dark maroon static image features a faded, monochromatic photograph of a football player catching a ball in the background. Large, bold white text dominates the center, flanked by two orange plus signs. Below this, smaller white and orange text describes the brand's coverage.
Active · 66 days
The Athletic
A dark maroon static image features a faded, monochromatic photograph of a hockey player in the background. Large, bold white text in the center displays the abbreviation 'CHI', flanked by two orange plus signs. Below this, smaller white and orange text highlights the brand's commitment to sports coverage.
Active · 66 days
The Athletic
A dark blue graphic features a large white 'LA' in the center, flanked by two yellow plus signs. A faint, stylized image of a football player reaching for a catch is visible in the background. Text below the 'LA' highlights the brand's commitment to sports coverage.
Active · 66 days
The Athletic
The creative is a digital graphic featuring a bold headline about ranking college football stadiums. Below the headline, a stylized purple-toned image of a stadium is presented with the word 'RANKINGS' in large, bold, white letters overlaid across the center. The bottom section of the image includes a graphic element resembling a yard line marker on a football field.
Active · 65 days
The Athletic
A medium shot of a football player in a white long-sleeved shirt and a white cap, captured in the middle of a throwing motion on a football field. The background is blurred, showing the stadium seating and field markings. The image focuses on the athlete's intense expression and his athletic gear.
Active · 65 days
The Athletic
A graphic design featuring a central image of a large football stadium, framed by blue and green panels. The central panel displays the word RANKINGS in bold white letters above the stadium photo. The left panel contains a numbered list from 1 to 3 and a photo of a mascot being carried by a crowd.
Active · 64 days
The Athletic
A dark-toned, stylized image of a hockey player in gear serves as the background. Large white text in the center reads 'NY', flanked by two blue plus signs. Below this, white and blue text describes the brand's coverage and expertise.
Active · 64 days
The Athletic
A dark-themed graphic features a high-contrast, blue-toned illustration of a basketball player taking a shot on the right side. On the left, bold white text announces a call to action to improve sports knowledge and save money. Below this, a blue line highlights the nature of the coverage, followed by a final white call to action.
Active · 43 days
The Athletic
A dark navy background features a high-contrast, lime-green illustration of a hockey player in gear. Large, bold white text dominates the left side, while smaller lime-green and white text sits below it. The overall aesthetic is clean, modern, and sports-focused.
Active · 43 days
The Athletic
The video opens with a dark green background and text that animates in to invite the viewer to satisfy their inner sports fan. It then transitions to a simulated phone screen showing a live sports score update, followed by a scrolling chat thread where users discuss the game's tactical decisions. The ad concludes with a final screen displaying the brand name and a call to subscribe.
Active · 43 days
The Athletic
A vertical four-panel collage featuring close-up portraits of four professional basketball players. Each panel shows a different athlete in a game or professional setting, with the images desaturated and high-contrast. There is no text printed on the image itself.
Active · 39 days
The Athletic

How The Athletic makes its ads

What its ads are built from, by type, counted over the ads we have read.

What The Athletic's ads are built from: who is in frame, the words, the structure, the top format and hook.

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How The Athletic advertises on Facebook and Instagram

The library holds 43 ads from The Athletic in Entertainment / Media, and 232 running on its Meta pages now. Its most common visual formats are Headline (24 ads), Editorial (11) and Illustration (11). Its ads most often open on Demographic callout (8 ads), Question (6) and Bold claim (5) hooks. Its ads stay up a median 35 days, 3.9× the Entertainment / Media median of 9 days.

Brands like The Athletic

The Athletic by format

The Athletic by hook

Niche