Guide 8 of 17 in Level 4: Run it as an ad
Approve and start a campaign card by card
Campaigns that come from a suggestion, from Launch campaign or from the full campaign brief are approved in Blackbox (blackbox.plus) one card at a time. Click Plan in the left menu and open the card under Suggestions for now that reads Create campaign and the campaign's name. Click Create the campaign, which makes it on Meta paused. The card becomes the ad set: check who it reaches, change it if needed, answer any question, and click Create the ad set. Then click Add the ad, which uses your picture, ad text and landing page, still paused. The last card says what the campaign can spend and until when; click Start ads to turn on the campaign, ad set and ad together. That is the only step that spends, and Meta reviews new ads before they show, most within 24 hours. Afterwards, Undo is on the card. A Studio post run as a Meta ad skips these cards: it is created and started from its own review.
- You'll need
- Time
- About 4 minutes 7 steps Updated
- You'll end with
- A Meta campaign, ad set and ad you approved card by card, running
How to approve and start a campaign card by card in Blackbox
Step 1:Open Plan
Click Plan in the left menu.
You'll see: Your brand’s calendar, with Suggestions for now above the month.
Open this in BlackboxStep 2:Find the campaign
Under Suggestions for now, click the card named after your campaign.
You'll see: A card reading Create campaign: and your campaign’s name, beside the calendar.
Step 3:Create the campaign
Check it and click Create the campaign.
You'll see: The card turns into the ad set; the campaign is made on Meta, paused.
Step 4:Check who it reaches
Under Ad set reaches, check who will see the ad and change it if you need to.
You'll see: The audience you want, plus any question the card asks.
Step 5:Create the ad set
Answer any question it asks, then click Create the ad set.
You'll see: The card moves on, with Add the ad.
Step 6:Add the ad
Click Add the ad.
You'll see: The last card, saying what it can spend and until when.
Step 7:Start it
Click Start ads.
You'll see: The campaign, ad set and ad turned on together, with Undo on the card.
Good to know
- The steps here are for a Meta campaign. Every card before the last creates something on Meta, paused — only Start ads turns it on and spends.
- Ad set reaches comes from your brief, the ad account’s saved audience, or everyone in the chosen countries.
- The ad uses your picture, ad text and landing page. Meta reviews new ads before they show, most within 24 hours.
- If a launch stops partway, the card offers Remove the paused campaign so nothing is left behind.
- Not now lets you Snooze a card for a day or Dismiss it. Ask about this answers questions about the card.
- A Studio post run as a Meta ad skips these cards: it is created and started from its own review.
- The campaign is a normal Meta campaign: you can see it, and pause it, in Meta Ads Manager too.
- A campaign made in New Campaign arrives as one Campaign proposal card instead — see Approve a campaign proposal and start it.
Official docs
If something doesn't work
I’m worried the first card spends money
It doesn’t. The campaign, ad set and ad are all created paused. Nothing shows or spends until you click Start ads on the last card.
The ad set is aimed at the wrong people
Change the countries or the audience on the ad set card, before you click Create the ad set.
The button says Pick a country to continue
The ad set needs an answer first — which countries, which Facebook Page, or how a sale is measured. Pick one on the card and the button comes back.
I started it but the ad is not showing
Meta reviews new ads before they show, most within 24 hours. If Meta rejects it, Meta tells the ad account why.
I want to stop it
Click Undo on the card, or pause the campaign in Meta Ads Manager. With an end date, it stops on its own after that day.
Previous: Approve a campaign proposal and start it
Stuck at any step? Send us a message and we'll do it with you on a call. All of Level 4: Run it as an ad