Black Friday ads start three weeks early — and most outlast Cyber Monday.
By Denzel Geng · Published October 2026 · A chapter of the BFCM 2025 Meta ads study
In ViralMojo's BFCM 2025 dataset — 20 verified Black Friday campaigns with clean flight windows in Meta's Ad Library — the earliest went live on October 29, six of the twenty (30%) were already running by October 31, and the median start date was November 6, 22 days before Black Friday (November 28, 2025). Sixteen of the 20 kept running past Cyber Monday; the longest flight, Dylan Oaks, ran 51 days, from November 6 to December 27. Only one brand, Apple, confined its flight to Black Friday week (November 28 – December 3).
When Black Friday ads go live
| Signal | Value |
|---|---|
| Earliest verified start | Oct 29 (Beautiful Earth Boutique) |
| Live by Oct 31 | 6 of 20 datable flights (30%) |
| Median start date | Nov 6 — 22 days before Black Friday |
If your Black Friday media plan switches on the week of the sale, you are entering an auction where most of the verified winners have already been warming audiences for three to four weeks. The earliest, Beautiful Earth Boutique, went live a full month before Black Friday, which fell on November 28, 2025.
How long they run
| Signal | Value |
|---|---|
| Ran past Cyber Monday (Dec 1) | 16 of 20 |
| Longest flight | Nov 6 – Dec 27 (51 days, Dylan Oaks) |
| Only Black-Friday-week-only flight | Apple, Nov 28 – Dec 3 |
Most flights outlasted the sale weekend: 16 of the 20 were still running after Cyber Monday. The longest, Dylan Oaks’ gift-with-purchase campaign, ran 51 days. Apple was the only brand that kept its flight to Black Friday week.
Every flight, start to finish
The 20 datable flights, earliest start first, as recorded in the study’s dataset. Two of the 22 verified campaigns have no single start-to-end flight, so they sit outside the “of 20” figures: Nordic Nest (— (Black Week batch)) and BabySam (Two livestreams: Nov 13 + Nov 27).
| Brand | Flight (2025) | Offer mechanic | Verify |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beautiful Earth Boutique | Oct 29 – Nov 26 | 4 waves: 70% → B1G2 → $10 Cyber Week → 70% | Ad Library ↗ |
| ghd | Oct 30 – Dec 4 | multi-code promo (EXTRA5 / MORE / MINNIE5) | Ad Library ↗ |
| Jet2holidays | Oct 30 – Dec 4 | £400 off (based on 4 people) | Ad Library ↗ |
| True Classic | Oct 31 – Nov 29 | 25% → 70% across waves | Ad Library ↗ |
| Tropicfeel | Oct 31 – Dec 5 | 40% "Private Sale" early access | Ad Library ↗ |
| LEGO | Oct 31 – Dec 3 | GWP + BF-exclusive set + Insiders pricing | Ad Library ↗ |
| Deciem / The Ordinary | Nov 1 – Dec 14 | flat −23%, 4-tier GWP ladder | Ad Library ↗ |
| Our Place | Nov 2 – Dec 19 | sitewide sale (no % in copy) | Ad Library ↗ |
| Meta Quest | Nov 6 – Dec 3 | — | Ad Library ↗ |
| Dylan Oaks | Nov 6 – Dec 27 | 3-tier discounts + per-letter GWP | Ad Library ↗ |
| Nomination | Nov 6 – Dec 3 | — (multilingual promo) | Ad Library ↗ |
| SHEIN | Nov 12 – Dec 1 (example ad) | — | Ad Library ↗ |
| HexClad | Nov 13 – Dec 3 | 13-pc set £1,148 → £599 (~48% off) | Ad Library ↗ |
| WHOSEthatbag | Nov 16 – Dec 3 | 20% → 25% escalation | Ad Library ↗ |
| Hismile | Nov 18 – Dec 3 | everything ≤ $10; $59 brush for $1 via riddle | Ad Library ↗ |
| Normatec (Hyperice) | Nov 19 – Dec 23 | — (multi-line, multi-language) | Ad Library ↗ |
| Glossier | Nov 20 – Dec 4 | up to 30% + staggered gifts at £100+ | Ad Library ↗ |
| Jaded LDN | Nov 21/22 – Dec 2/3 | up to 50% | Ad Library ↗ |
| Gymshark | Nov 22 – Dec 1 | up to 50% off everything | Ad Library ↗ |
| Apple | Nov 28 – Dec 3 | gift card up to €200 with qualifying devices | Ad Library ↗ |
Waves inside the window
A long flight is rarely one message. True Classic ran an early-bird wave from October 31 to November 6 before its main wave. Tropicfeel opened October 31 with an email-gated “Private Sale.” BabySam warmed up with a November 13 livestream before its November 27 main event, backed by a 14-hour reminder ad. Jaded LDN gave app users 24 hours of exclusive early access.
How we measured
A flight is the span from the first to the last day the brand’s Black Friday ads ran on its official Page in Meta’s Ad Library, checked in September 2026 on November 2025 campaigns. Twenty of the 22 verified campaigns have a clean flight window; the other two are listed above. This is what an editorial selection of brands did in 2025, not a rule for when to launch. The full method is in the study’s methodology.
Common questions.
This is what 20 verified BFCM 2025 campaigns did, not a rule: the earliest went live on October 29, 30% were running by October 31, and the median start was November 6, three weeks before Black Friday. A plan that starts in sale week enters an auction most of these brands had been in for weeks.
Most ran well past the day. Of 20 verified BFCM 2025 flights, 16 were still running after Cyber Monday, the longest (Dylan Oaks) ran 51 days from November 6 to December 27, and only Apple kept its flight to Black Friday week, November 28 to December 3.
Most do. In ViralMojo's BFCM 2025 dataset, 16 of the 20 verified campaigns with clean flight windows were still running after Cyber Monday (December 1, 2025).