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How long should a commercial be? A guide to 6, 15, 30 and 60 seconds

How long should a commercial be? What 6, 15, 30 and 60 seconds carry, YouTube, Instagram and LinkedIn length rules, and how to plan cut-downs from one master.

Cinela Studio 6 min read

An old analogue stopwatch on a dark walnut desk, with pencil storyboard sketches and a pen
Image: made with AI · Cinela

Service Commercial production Watch the sample film

How long should a commercial be? Choose the job first

“How long should a commercial be?” is usually asked from the wrong end. A commercial’s length isn’t a decision in itself; it’s the result of two decisions: what the film has to do, and where it will run. A reminder fits into 6 seconds; a story doesn’t fit into 15. Decide the job first, then the channel, and the length follows.

Length, channel and job

Length Where it fits Its job
6 s YouTube bumpers, Instagram Stories, campaign reminders One image, one line and the brand: a reminder
15 s Reels, Shorts, non-skippable YouTube ads, Stories One idea: hook, message and close
30 s Skippable YouTube ads, TV, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook feed A small story with a beginning, middle and end
45–60 s YouTube, website, launch page Emotion, atmosphere and storytelling
2–3 min Website, presentations, trade fairs, investor meetings A story that covers the whole company or brand

Short doesn’t mean easier. In 6 seconds every frame has a job; a single unnecessary shot can wipe out the message. Long doesn’t mean saying more, either: a 60-second film is still built around one idea, and its first seconds are still the hook.

For three-minute films, see our corporate video guide; for content told in 60–90 second episodes, see what a branded series is.

Platform length rules

Channel and format Length rule Note
YouTube bumper ad Up to 6 seconds Non-skippable
YouTube non-skippable in-stream ad 7–15 s; 16–30 s only on connected TV (CTV) screens 30-second videos must be horizontal
YouTube skippable in-stream ad No maximum; under 3 minutes recommended Skippable after 5 seconds
YouTube Shorts ad Up to 3 minutes; the first 60 seconds play in the Shorts feed Under 60 seconds and 9:16 recommended
Instagram Reels ad 0 seconds to 15 minutes 9:16 recommended
Instagram Stories ad 1 second to 60 minutes 16 seconds or longer may be split into separate cards
LinkedIn video ad 3 seconds to 30 minutes 15–30 s recommended to qualify for every placement
TikTok video ad Up to 10 minutes (non-Spark Ads) No length limit for Spark Ads

The lesson from the table: the length a platform allows isn’t the length that works. A 15-minute ad can run on Reels, but the platforms’ own recommendations cluster around short lengths. Google lets you combine 6-, 15- and 30-second videos in a non-skippable campaign; LinkedIn recommends 15–30 seconds. In its own analysis published in 2021, TikTok reported that In-Feed ads between 21 and 34 seconds performed better on conversions.

On skippable ads, the first 5 seconds matter even more, because that’s where viewers decide. The brand and the hook should both land inside that window.

On television, every second shows up in the media budget. Find out from your media agency which channels and which spot lengths are planned before the script is written.

Cut-down strategy: one master, three lengths

A practical method: write a 30-second master and plan the 15- and 6-second cuts at the script stage. Trying to shorten a film after it’s finished tends to end the same way: the story breaks, the music stops in the wrong place, and the brand shows up too late or not at all.

Part 30 s master 15 s cut 6 s cut
Hook 0–3 s 0–3 s, same opening 0–2 s
World and character 3–12 s Down to one shot None
Turn or proof 12–24 s The strongest moment 2–4 s, one image
Close and brand 24–30 s Last 3 s Last 2 s

For this to work, three things are settled in the script:

  • Scenes that survive each cut are marked. The shot list records which cuts each scene appears in.
  • The brand appears early in every cut. Through the product, a colour or a place, not only the end logo.
  • Music and sound are built around the cut points. The 15- and 6-second versions end on a natural close, too.

Framing and safe zones for the vertical cut are planned from the start as well; see our Reels ad video guide.

Length and cuts at Cinela

Cinela’s Commercial package is built around a 30-second film: 16:9, 9:16 and 1:1 cuts, original score and sound design, 2 revision rounds and full usage rights are included. The film is delivered in 7 business days and starts at $1,990 (excl. VAT). If you need 15-second vertical videos for the feed, the Social Series package delivers 3 vertical videos × 15 s in 5 business days, from $990 (excl. VAT). Details are on our AI commercials page.

Cuts work best when they’re planned at the script stage; at Cinela the script and shot list come to you for approval on day 2. If you need 15- or 6-second length cuts, say so in the brief and the scope is set out in the quote. Every cut, like the master, is delivered clearly labelled as AI-made.

A checklist before you write

  1. What is the film’s job? A reminder, one message or a story.
  2. Which channel and which ad format will it run in?
  3. How long is the master, and which cuts do you need?
  4. Do the brand and the hook land in the first 5 seconds?
  5. Does the 15-second cut make sense on its own?
  6. Does the 6-second cut come down to one image and one line?
  7. Does the music end at a natural point in every cut?
  8. Are text and logo inside the safe zone in the vertical cut?
  9. If it was made with AI, is that stated in every cut?

Sources

Rules checked in October 2026; platforms update them often.

  • Commercials
  • Ad length
  • YouTube
  • Social media

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