What is a testimonial ad?

• Customer testimonial: a real customer describes their experience.
• Creator testimonial: a paid creator talks about the product.
• Expert testimonial: a professional explains why they recommend it.
• Written or review-style: quotes or review cards in a static ad.

Under the FTC's endorsement guidance, a creator who has not used a product cannot describe results as their own, and paid endorsements need a clear disclosure. Source: FTC: Endorsements, Influencers, and Reviews, checked on 29 October 2026.

The FTC's health products guidance says health claims need competent and reliable scientific evidence, and that a testimonial showing results that are not typical is likely deceptive even with a "results not typical" line. Source: FTC Health Products Compliance Guidance, checked on 29 October 2026.

Our testimonial ads page shows the format for telehealth.

If a testimonial shows results better than people can generally expect, the FTC says the ad should clearly and conspicuously disclose the generally expected performance in the circumstances shown. It also warns that a disclosure in the lower corner of a video could be too easy to overlook. Source: FTC's Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking, checked on 3 November 2026.

Its health products guidance adds that when a claim needing a disclosure is made both visually and audibly, the disclosure should be made both visually and audibly too. Source: FTC Health Products Compliance Guidance, checked on 3 November 2026. Our UGC ads page shows how we build that into scripts.

A testimonial is the right format when the main objection is trust or legitimacy, and when you have real customers who agreed in writing to appear, with their experience documented.

In a batch, one or two testimonials usually sit at the product-aware end, after the angle has been introduced by other formats. More on our performance marketing page.

The FTC gives the example of doctors in lab coats in an ad: it says images like these give an impression of scientific legitimacy and likely convey an implied claim that the product has been proven in scientific testing. Source: FTC Health Products Compliance Guidance, checked on 3 November 2026.

An endorsement, from an expert or anyone else, cannot be used to make a claim the marketer of the product could not legally make. Source: FTC's Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking, checked on 3 November 2026. The same applies to people made with AI tools; see our AI UGC page.