Creative fatigue occurs when an ad's effectiveness decreases because the target audience has seen it too frequently, leading to lower engagement and conversions.
Creative fatigue is the decline in an advertising campaign's performance that happens when the target audience becomes overexposed to the same ad creative. As viewers see an ad repeatedly, they can develop 'banner blindness,' become disinterested, or even annoyed, causing them to ignore the message. This decline is typically observed through falling click-through rates (CTR), lower conversion rates, and rising costs per acquisition (CPA) or impression (CPM). This phenomenon is distinct from audience saturation, which occurs when an advertiser has reached most of the available people in a target audience. While related, creative fatigue is specifically about the declining novelty and impact of a particular ad or set of ads. A fresh creative concept introduced to the same audience can often reverse the negative performance trend, demonstrating that the audience was tired of the ad, not necessarily the product or brand.
Understanding and monitoring creative fatigue is critical for maximizing return on ad spend (ROAS). Allowing a fatigued creative to continue running results in wasted budget on impressions that no longer effectively engage or convert users. It can also harm brand perception if repetitive ads lead to a negative user experience. Advertisers must implement a system for creative testing and iteration. By regularly introducing new ad variations—such as different headlines, images, videos, or calls-to-action—they can keep their campaigns fresh and maintain performance over time. Analyzing metrics like frequency alongside engagement and conversion rates helps advertisers identify the early signs of fatigue and act proactively.
