What ads are allowed, and how to fix a rejection

This is a plain summary. The Advertising Policy is the full rule, and it wins if the two ever differ. It applies to every creative, click link and landing page, and that includes a publisher's own direct-sold creatives.

What's never allowed

• Anything illegal where the ad is served
• Counterfeit goods, or content that infringes someone's rights
• Weapons and explosives
• Adult content
• Hate, violence and harassment
• Malware, phishing and deceptive software
• False claims, fake testimonials, fake countdowns, and impersonating a brand, a government body or a mail app
• Pyramid schemes, get-rich-quick offers and guaranteed-return investments
• Tobacco and vaping products
• Ads that exploit deaths, disasters or emergencies

What's allowed with conditions

These must be legal where the ad runs, and each has its own conditions in the policy.

• Alcohol
• Gambling and real-money gaming
• Financial services and crypto assets
• Health, pharmaceuticals and supplements
• Political and issue ads
• Dating services
• CBD and hemp-derived products

Choose the right IAB Category on your creative. Publishers use it to keep unsuitable ads out, and a wrong category is itself a violation.

What a creative must do

• Clearly show who the advertiser is, and never pose as a personal email or as the newsletter's own content.
• Fit the slot's size, and read well on desktop and mobile.
• Use no fake play buttons, form fields, unsubscribe links or mail-app warnings.
• Use no strobing or rapidly flashing animation.
• Use HTTPS for images and links.
• Lead to a landing page that matches the ad, works, uses HTTPS and doesn't trap the reader.

Interactive Ads have extra rules in the policy.

How review works

Each creative is reviewed before it serves, and MailAdx can review an approved one again and pause or remove it. Get a creative approved covers the statuses, what sends a creative back for review, and how to fix a rejection.

If something goes wrong

• You don't agree with the rejection. You can appeal within 30 days. See restrictions and appeals.
• A live creative stopped serving. Check its status in Creatives. MailAdx may have reviewed it again, or an edit may have sent it back for review.