“Performing” doesn’t mean “a lot of views”. An ad with 500k views and 0.4% CTR is a flop. One with 50k views and 5% CTR is a winning creative. The difference comes from how you search and what metrics you track.
Define what “performing” means for you
Before you search, set the benchmarks. For awareness: CPM below industry average, hold rate above 40%. For conversion: CTR above 2%, CVR above 3%, CPA below target. Without clear numbers, you’ll confuse virality with results.
TikTok Creative Center: Top Ads Dashboard
Creative Center Top Adsgives you access to ads sorted by CTR, CVR or 6s view rate, by industry and country. Filter on the last 30 days to see what’s active, not what worked 6 months ago.
Click an ad, see public metrics + ad in full format. At Mondly we use this as a benchmark: if our CTR is below the top 100 average in Education, we know there’s room to improve.
“High-performing ad” signals on organic TikTok
When scrolling FYP with a research account, look for these signals on a sponsored post: 1000+ comments (not 100), save/like ratio above 5%, share count above 2% of views, how long it’s been running (shows up repeatedly for 3-4 weeks to the same audience).
Ads running >30 days are the ones performing. Nobody keeps money in active ads that aren’t working.
TikTok Ad Library + duration filter
In TikTok Ad Library, search a brand, see start date for each ad. Mentally sort by oldest still active. Those are the workhorses. That’s where you start the analysis.
Spyware tools: when they’re worth it
Foreplay, Minea, Pipiads. 50-200 EUR/month. Real value when you want to see trending angles across 30 niches at once, without 10 hours of manual research. For a single brand, Creative Center + Ad Library are enough.
Ask your network and your agency
Half our insights come from conversations with other agencies and media buyers. “What formats are working for you in DTC right now?” “What hooks land on app installs in 2026?”. People spending 500k+/month see patterns before they show up in Creative Center.
Concrete weekly process
Monday, 30 minutes: top 20 ads from Creative Center for your industry. Tuesday, 30 minutes: 5 competitors in Ad Library, save what’s new. Wednesday, 20 minutes: FYP research with dedicated account. Result: 10-15 new references/week, enough for 3 of your own tests.
High-performing ads are found in public sources. The difference between someone who does it well and someone who doesn’t isn’t access to data. It’s consistency in research and clarity on the metrics you track.
