How to make a Black Friday ad from one photo
One-line description for the box next to the upload: This is our own ceramic coffee set, sold directly; Black Friday weekend sale, free gift wrap. When the photo alone is ambiguous, this line outranks what the picture seems to show.
Count back from the 27th
Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26, so the sale weekend starts the next morning. Working backwards from there:
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| Now to Nov 8 | Choose the hero product and take or clean up one to four photos of it. Decide the offer, the end date and the link. |
| Nov 9–15 | Make the 30-second main ad in portrait. Check the end card text. Make a 15-second teaser from a second photo if you have a second product. |
| Nov 16–22 | Fix any shot that missed in the editor, rebuild the final cut, export. Schedule the teaser. |
| Nov 23–26 | Teaser out. On Thanksgiving, a soft “tomorrow” post. |
| Nov 27 | Main ad out. |
| Nov 28–30 | Edit the end card for Cyber Monday (“Last day”, the new end time) and rebuild the final cut with the same shots. |
The earlier you start, the more room there is to reshoot one shot rather than all of them. The whole ad flow, step by step.
Pick the photo
- The first photo is the main subject. The end card is built around it. A product, a dish or a garment is redrawn as a clean studio shot on white so it is lit the same in every shot.
- A shop, a car or an app screen is not redrawn. A shop becomes the place the ad happens inside. People in a photo of a place or a vehicle are removed first.
- Up to four photos of the same subject: angles, a detail, the product in use.
- If the picture is misleading, say what it is in the one-line box; that line wins over the photo.
Which photos work for an ad · An ad for a physical product · for clothing · for a restaurant · for an app.
Pick the tone for a sale
| Tone | Good for |
|---|---|
| Epic | A hero product with a big reveal: one item that anchors the sale. |
| Mouth-watering close-ups | Food, drink, a gift hamper. |
| Show how it works | Gadgets, apps, tools; the demo is the pitch. |
| Funny | Mass-market items; the product is the punchline. |
| Warm | Gifts and family purchases. |
| Twist | A “you think it’s one thing” reveal that ends on the offer. |
| Minimal | Premium goods that do not shout. |
| A day in the life | Clothing and everyday items worn or used. |
Length is 15, 30 or 60 seconds (one, two or four segments of fifteen seconds); the resolution is 480p, 720p or 1080p. Length and resolution change the price; tone and shape do not. Ad type, length, shape and resolution.
Choose portrait for feeds and short-video apps, landscape for a website or a pre-roll slot. Changing the shape later is a new ad. Music is written for the ad and mixed into the final cut: where the music comes from.
What goes on the end card
The end card is the one place the picture carries readable words. Four lines, any of which can be blank:
- Brand and product name, read from your photo and description.
- Tagline: the line people should remember. Black Friday weekend only.
- Call to action: Shop the sale at your-shop.example.
Two rules for a sale ad. First, superlatives such as “the lowest price anywhere” or “number one in sales” are stripped from the script before it is produced, so say what is true: the real discount and the real end date. Second, settle the wording before you assemble: the end-card hint warns that changing it after assembling means assembling again, and paying again. The end card, line by line.
The second cut for Cyber Monday
Once the ad is finished, Edit end card opens the four lines on its progress page. Change the tagline to the Monday version and press Rebuild final cut: the same shots are joined again with the new card, nothing is reshot, and if the rebuild fails, the previous cut stays. The ad progress page.
Before you start, the price is shown and it is a cap, not an estimate. What you actually pay.
Make it in SceneMixer, start to finish
- Open Make an ad and add one to four photos of the product.
- Type the one-line description if the photo is ambiguous: what it is, who it is for, the sale.
- Pick the tone, the length, the shape and the resolution. The price for the whole ad is shown before you start.
- Hand it to the AI to run the whole chain, or use step-by-step mode to edit the script and reshoot single shots before paying for the rest.
- Check the end card, assemble, download and post. Make the Monday version from the progress page.
| Setting | For a Black Friday ad | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Photos | 1–4 of the hero product | The first is the main subject |
| Length | 30 s main, 15 s teaser | Two segments, then one |
| Shape | Portrait for feeds | Landscape for the website |
| End card | Offer, end date, link | The only readable text |
| Monday | Edit the end card, rebuild | Same shots, no reshoot |
FAQ
When is Black Friday 2026?
Friday, November 27, 2026, the day after US Thanksgiving on Thursday, November 26. Cyber Monday is Monday, November 30.
How do I make a Black Friday ad from one photo?
Open Make an ad, add one to four photos of the product, pick a tone, length, shape and resolution, check the end card and let it run. The price is shown before you start.
Can I put the discount in the video?
Put it on the end card and in the spoken line. Nothing legible is written into the picture itself.
Can I say lowest price in the ad?
No. Superlatives and absolute claims are stripped from the script. Say what is true: the discount and the end date.
Can I make a second version for Cyber Monday?
Yes. Edit the end card on the progress page and rebuild the final cut. The same shots are used, and nothing is reshot.
Is the end card free to change?
Changing it after assembling means assembling again, and the interface warns that it is charged again, so finish the wording first.
How long should a sale ad be?
15 seconds for a teaser, 30 for the main ad, 60 if it tells a small story.
Can I make ads for several products?
Yes, one ad per product, each from its own photos. Lead with the hero product.
Be ready before the doors open.
One photo, one price shown up front, one end card for the sale.
Updated October 26, 2026