TikTok expands Pulse to place ads beside trending videos and creators
Brands can now buy adjacency to trending content and specific creators instead of generic placements.
Mariano De Vitto · July 2026
TikTok has expanded Pulse, its contextual ad program, giving brands more ways to place ads next to trending videos and alongside specific creators. Instead of buying generic placements, advertisers can now align with content already gaining momentum in the feed.
The idea is simple: run ads where attention is already concentrated, without breaking the scroll with something that feels foreign to the platform. Pulse ads sit beside organic trends rather than interrupting them, so the ad experience mirrors the native TikTok feel users expect.
For marketers, this matters because it changes the entry point into the feed. Rather than competing with trending content for attention, brands can now ride alongside it. Placement next to a specific creator also opens the door to more targeted brand alignment, letting advertisers choose adjacency based on audience fit rather than just category or keyword.
This is part of a broader shift across social platforms toward contextual, less disruptive ad formats. As feeds get more crowded and skip rates rise, platforms are betting that proximity to relevant content performs better than forced interruption.
For brand teams, the takeaway is practical. Pulse expansion means more nuanced planning around where and next to whom an ad appears. It rewards marketers who track trends closely and choose creator adjacency with intention, not just budget allocation by placement type.
Expect more platforms to follow this contextual logic in the coming months, as attention becomes the currency and interruption becomes the cost.
The Signal Brief · Mariano De Vitto — Head of Marketing, Barcelona