Overview
Facebook carousel ads show a scrollable set of cards, each featuring an offer or a vehicle. In a carousel ad template, the card generator you choose decides which items become cards, in what order, and how many appear.
There are 15 generators in two families:
- Offer generators (4) build cards from dealer offers: finance, lease, MSRP discount, and cash.
- Car generators (11) build cards from individual vehicles in inventory.
Picking the right generator lets the same template serve very different goals, from promoting every deal on a single model to moving vehicles that have been on the lot the longest.
How It Works
Two template settings control what every generator can produce:
- Template source: what the ad is built around. A model template covers one model, a dealership template covers the whole dealer, and a brand template covers one brand.
- Max card count: every generator stops once it reaches the template's maximum number of cards.
Offer Generators
Offer generators pull valid offers only. The "Per Model" versions run on dealership or brand templates and loop through new models, starting with the most viewed model.
| Generator | Template source | Cards pulled | Max cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Offers for a Model | Model | The best offer of each offer type for that model | Number of offer types (4 at most) |
| Best Offer per Model | Dealership or brand | The one best offer for each new model | Template max |
| Offers | Model | All valid offers for that model | Template max |
| Offers per Model | Dealership or brand | All valid offers for each new model, model after model | Template max |
How the Best Offer Is Chosen
Offers are ranked by the rules below, in order. Each rule is only used to break a tie from the rule before it.
Ranking order:
- Biggest MSRP discount
- Lowest lease payment per month
- Lowest lease down payment
- Lowest finance APR
- Highest cash amount
- Most recently updated
Offer Generator Example
A dealer has the new-model offers below. Models ranked by view count are Camry (5,000), RAV4 (3,000), and Corolla (1,000). The template max is 5 cards.
| Model | Offers |
|---|---|
| Camry | Lease $299/mo, Lease $329/mo, Finance 1.9% APR, Cash $1,500 |
| RAV4 | Lease $349/mo, Finance 2.9% APR |
| Corolla | Lease $199/mo |
- Best Offers for a Model (Camry ad): 3 cards. Lease $299/mo, Finance 1.9% APR, and Cash $1,500. The $329/mo lease is dropped because only the best lease is kept.
- Best Offer per Model (dealership ad): 3 cards, one per model. The best Camry offer, then the best RAV4 offer, then the Corolla $199/mo lease.
- Offers (Camry ad): 4 cards, one for each Camry offer.
- Offers per Model (dealership ad): 5 cards. All 4 Camry offers, then 1 RAV4 offer. Corolla never appears because the 5-card max is reached.
Car Generators
Car generators pull valid inventory vehicles and work with any template source (model, dealership, or brand), except Most Viewed generators, which require a dealership or brand template. They fall into three groups based on how they rank vehicles.
| Generator | Template source | Vehicles pulled | Filter | Sorted by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cars | Model, dealership, or brand | All conditions | Must have images | Most viewed car, then lowest price, then most recently updated |
| New Cars | Model, dealership, or brand | New | Must have images | Same as Cars |
| Used Cars | Model, dealership, or brand | Used | Must have images | Same as Cars |
| Certified Pre-Owned Cars | Model, dealership, or brand | CPO | Must have images | Same as Cars |
| Aged Cars | Model, dealership, or brand | All conditions | Must have images, on the lot more than 30 days | Longest on the lot first |
| Aged New Cars | Model, dealership, or brand | New | Same as Aged Cars | Longest on the lot first |
| Aged Used Cars | Model, dealership, or brand | Used | Same as Aged Cars | Longest on the lot first |
| Most Viewed Car per Model | Dealership or brand | All conditions | One car per make + model + condition | Most viewed model first |
| Most Viewed New Car per Model | Dealership or brand | New | Same as above | Most viewed model first |
| Most Viewed Used Car per Model | Dealership or brand | Used | Same as above | Most viewed model first |
| Most Viewed CPO Car per Model | Dealership or brand | CPO | Same as above | Most viewed model first |
Car Generator Example
A dealer has the inventory below, with a template max of 3 cards.
| Car | Condition | Car views | Price | Days on lot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Camry A | New | 900 | $31,000 | 12 |
| Camry B | New | 400 | $29,000 | 45 |
| RAV4 C | New | 700 | $34,000 | 60 |
| RAV4 D | Used | 300 | $24,000 | 35 |
| Corolla E | New | 100 | $23,000 | 90 |
- Cars: Camry A, RAV4 C, Camry B (highest car views).
- Used Cars: RAV4 D only.
- Aged Cars: Corolla E (90 days), RAV4 C (60 days), Camry B (45 days). Camry A is excluded at 12 days.
- Aged Used Cars: RAV4 D (35 days).
- Most Viewed New Car per Model: one new Camry, one new RAV4, and one new Corolla, ordered by each model's total views. Which Camry appears depends on its position in the inventory source, not on Camry A having more views (see the FAQ below).
How to Use It
Choose a generator based on what you want the carousel to accomplish, and make sure the template source matches the generator.
| Goal | Generator |
|---|---|
| Show every deal type for one model | Best Offers for a Model |
| Show the top deal across the lineup | Best Offer per Model |
| Show all deals for one model | Offers |
| Push all deals on the most popular models | Offers per Model |
| Show the most engaging inventory | Cars (or New / Used / CPO) |
| Move stale inventory | Aged Cars (or Aged New / Aged Used) |
| Show one car per model, popular models first | Most Viewed Car per Model (or New / Used / CPO) |
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my carousel ad generating no cards?
Offer generators and Most Viewed generators return no cards when the template source doesn't match what the generator requires. Check the Template source column in the tables above.
In a Most Viewed ad, why isn't the most viewed car showing?
"Most Viewed" refers to the most viewed model, not the most viewed car. Model view counts decide which models appear and in what order. The car shown for each model is the first valid one in the inventory source, and it isn't re-ranked by its own views.
Why does a Most Viewed card show a car with no photos?
Most Viewed generators don't require images. All other car generators skip vehicles without photos.
Why does Best Offers for a Model show only 4 cards?
This generator shows one card per offer type, so it caps at 4 cards even if the template allows more.
Why do only my top models appear in an Offers per Model ad?
Per Model offer generators favor popular models. Offers per Model can fill every card with the top model's offers, leaving other models out.
Why don't used or CPO offers appear in Per Model offer ads?
Per Model offer generators only use new models, so used and CPO offers never appear through them.
Why is a vehicle missing from my Aged Cars ad?
Aged means more than 30 days on the lot, based on the vehicle's on-lot date. Vehicles with no on-lot date are excluded.