Ad Policies (Amazon.co.uk)
To deliver great experiences for our customers, we have developed the following
policies to help guide your campaign design and execution.
General Policies
Learn more about our advertising submission guidelines and creative processing
timelines for standard media.
Creative Acceptance
Amazon requires that advertisers and their agency partners review their
advertising creative with these guidelines in mind before submitting for approval.
Technical Guidelines
Learn more about our Flash and Rich Media guidelines.
Approved Third Party Advert Servers and Technology Providers
See which third party advert servers as well as research and reporting systems that
Amazon supports.
Production Timelines
Learn about timelines associated with creative validation and design advertising
placements across multiple platforms.
General Policies
Advertisement Submission Guidelines
Submit all Advertiser Content to your account team. Email submission information
must include:
 Advertiser Name
 Campaign Start & End date
 Creative Files
 Alt Text (if applicable)
 Linking URL
 3rd party tags (if applicable)
 Instructions on how advert element(s) should run/rotate
Creative processing turnaround time for IAB standard adverts is 3 business days,
permitting all Advertising Content and related technical elements to meet Amazon's
guidelines. Creative processing turnaround time for non-standard advert units
varies by advert type; consult with your account team on the specific lead times for
each type of placement.
If advertising content is late or does not comply with Amazon's advertising policies,
Amazon reserves the right to extend the campaign by the number of days the
advertising content was late in order to reach the contracted impression goals.
However, Amazon will work with the applicable advertiser or agency to deliver all
impressions within the contracted flight dates pending placement and available
inventory. If Amazon has not received creative assets within 3 business days of
campaign launch, Amazon will release inventory for all placements without assets.
While we cannot guarantee the contracted impressions will still be available at a
later time, we will work proactively to revise media plans accordingly.
Technical Guidelines














All content must only come from the serving advert server's domain and the
content served may not call in content from any other domain.
All domain/URL references must be named domains, no raw IP addresses are
allowed.
All advertisements must generate a new window and the existing Amazon
window must remain open. Advertisements that link in to Amazon landing
pages are not required to generate a new window.
The display URL must be the actual destination URL (i.e., the website that the
advertisement's link resolves to, not a redirect) of the advertisement so that
it informs the user of the destination website of the advertisement.
The destination URL of an advertisement must work properly and resolve to
a working website. It cannot connect to an email address or file, and must not
be under construction.
All advertisements must not include pop-ups or pop-unders, nor may landing
pages spawn pop-up or pop-under advertisements to a user.
Advertisements must not interfere with navigation on Amazon sites, obscure
other content or advertisements, access or alter user's computer settings or
preferences, or otherwise unduly or inappropriately interfere with the user's
experience of or Amazon's operation of Amazon.com.
Advertisements must not trigger downloads of software to a user's computer
without first providing the user with clear and conspicuous disclosures
regarding the installation, operation and removal of the software, and
providing the user with an opportunity to decline to install the software after
such disclosures are made.
If an advertisement uses third-party tags and has Amazon's prior written
consent, please include specific trafficking instructions. A contact at the
third-party is required and must be provided to Amazon prior to the
campaign start date. For more about Amazon's Third-Party Advert-Serving
Guidelines, please see below.
The destination URL included in adverts must not be formatted using any
tracking or other technology from the Amazon Associates Program (i.e.,
adverts must not be "Special Links" as defined in the Associates Program
Operating Agreement).
All impression delivery and billing will be based on Amazon reporting
numbers unless otherwise specified in the applicable insertion order.
All advertisements must support "http:" and "https:" for visitors who browse
and purchase in secure mode.
All tags for Thank You Placement must be secure (https:).
By advertising on Amazon you consent to have security checks performed by
Amazon on your adverts.
Flash Guidelines for Standard IAB Units











Amazon allows Flash versions 6, 7, 8 & 9
Auto play Flash animation that provides 'video-like' user experience is not
permitted unless it meets Amazon's auto play video guidelines listed above.
Z-index must equal 10
Click-through URL should not be hard-coded into the
flash, but passed through via click-Tag command. Flash animation requires a
default "slate" static image for browsers that don't support iframes.
Frame
rate may not exceed 24 frames per second; 18 frames per second is
preferred.
An initial 30KB download and up to 3 additional, polite or user initiated,
downloads for embedded files upon user click are permitted (SWFs, FLVs,
JPGs, WAVs, and MP3s). Each additional file may not exceed 100KB and the
total downloaded file sizes must not exceed 300kb.
CPU Usage: Idle CPU usage typically falls within 8-12%. When testing a Flash
file for this advert, CPU usage after the initial loading of the file must not
exceed 30%, and must return to the idle range after 15 seconds. When a user
interacts with an advert, the CPU usage can go up to 80% during interaction,
but the CPU usage must drop back to the idle range once interaction is
complete. (Idle CPU usage devised upon computer with a 1.8GHz Intel
Pentium Processor and 512 MB of RAM running standard programmes.)
The use of Shared Objects is not permitted.
The use of Clipboard is not permitted.
Accessing the user's microphone or WebCam is not permitted.
If the browser does not support Flash 6.0 and above, the alternate image will
be served.
Flash 6 SWF files will be displayed for Flash 6.0 to 6.0.0.65 plug in browsers
only.
The Flash 6 SWF file can be published as compressed.
Video Asset Guidelines
For non-standard advert units that will utilize video, please provide video assets in
the following formats:
 Raw video formats accepted: .MP4, .M4V, .MOV, .MPEG, .AVI or .DV
uncompressed formats.
 No less than 250px in height (progressive scan, 29.97 FPS)
 Maximum length: 3 minutes
Audio: stereo, high quality (sampled at
44100Hz or higher)
FLV Encoding Specs
Video assets will be encoded in Flash using the following encoding specs:
 FLV (not F4V)
 Codec: On2 VPS
 Bitrate Encoding: VBR
 Video Bitrate: no more than 600
 Audio Bitrate: no more than 128
Certified Third Party Ad Servers and Technology Providers
Use of any third party to serve content (including creative assets, pixels, and
cookies) inside of an advertisement is restricted to certified technologies.
Requests for third-parties that are not already certified must be submitted for
certification to Amazon at least 30 days in advance of the applicable campaign.
See the "Amazon Pixeling Policy" section below for cookie and pixel restrictions.
Failure to comply with any of these restrictions will result in the ad/campaign being
rejected.
The following table is a comprehensive list of all currently certified technologies for
ad serving, creative hosting, and similar services. For mobile approved vendors,
please see the section below within this page.
Territories
Third Party
DoubleClick
PointRoll
Atlas (Legacy Tags)
MediaPlex
24/7 RealMedia
Interpolis
Flash Talking
Adition
Quisma
TradeDoubler
Bridgetrack
AdTech Helios IQ
Facilitate
HEIAS
Newtention
add2media
White Ops
DoubleVerify*
Rackspace
Edgecast
Akamai
SpongeCell
Aggregate Knowledge**
Adobe Audience Manager**
[X+1]**
Weborama
Moat*
IPSOS
Smart Adserver
Integral Ad Science*
North
America
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Europe
Japan
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Expandable Rich
Media
X
X
X
X
IMDb only
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
IMDb only
IMDb only
IMDb only
X
X
* The above third party providers are not certified to deliver ad-blocking
technologies.
** These third party providers have limited targeting and reporting available.
Contact your Account Representative for further information.
Amazon uses DFP as its third-party ad server. Please note that Amazon cannot serve
DoubleClick Rich Media through DFP. You may use DoubleClick Rich Media, but
must send Amazon internal redirect tags, but any campaigns using DoubleClick Rich
Media must be in-banner. Please also note that we do not accept internal redirects
for Homepage Above-The-Fold Placement and Thank You Page. Please send
iframe/Javascript tags for these placements instead.
Third Party Research Studies
Amazon supports independently commissioned studies. However, Amazon places
the utmost importance on creating great customer experiences, and enforces strict
guidelines for third party research studies. Measurement of some placements is also
restricted. Any request to use opt-in survey recruitment must be placed well in
advance of a campaign agreement. Please contact your account team with questions
or for more information.
The research vendors listed below are certified to run advertiser-paid research
studies, pending Amazon's review and approval of the customer experience of the
execution:
Third Party
NA
EU
Dynamic Logic (using SafeCount)
X
X
Insight Express
X
comScore* (using ActionLift, AdEffx, BrandLift and vCE)
X
Nielsen (using Brand Effect Expanded View, Response Effect, Sales
Effect, Watch Effect, Brand Effect TV Online, Home Effect, Catalina,
X
AMP)
TNS (using SafeCount)
X
Vizu (IMDb in-banner only)
X
GfK Dimestore
X
Trend Research
X
X
* The above third party providers are not certified to deliver ad-blocking
technologies.
Amazon.com Pixeling Guidelines
Review Process
A data vendor or ad server must be certified to place pixels, use JS tags, or drop
cookies on Amazon websites. A complete list of certified third-party technical
vendors and their restrictions can be found above. Vendors not on the list are not
certified to run advertiser-paid studies on Amazon websites.
JP
X
Please send a sample of the pixel or tag to your account team at least two days
before the flight date along with a point of contact that can be reached quickly.
Fourth party measurement pixels or tags are not permitted to run unannounced.
Spotlight tags, once used to track view-through conversions, have been made
obsolete with the use of Amazon conversion reports, available for all link-in
campaigns. We will still be allowing spotlight tags for link-out campaigns, but are no
longer permitting them for link-in campaigns.
In your request, please specify:
1. The measurement vendor
2. The specific measurement product(s) for which this pixel or tag is intended
3. The pixel or tag type (1x1 or JS tag).
4. All placements within which the pixel or tag is intended run
5. All websites on which the pixel or tag is intended to run (Amazon.com, IMDb,
DPReview, other owned and operated properties)
6. An example of the pixel or tag.
Amazon Pixeling Policy
Review the following sections to ensure that your advertising campaign meets
Amazon's third-party pixel policies:
Placements and Types
1. JavaScript tags are not permitted within non-IAB slots.
2. No pixels or tags beyond DART or ATLAS are permitted in secure pages such
as Seller Central, Thank You Page, or BackToSchool BTF placements.
3. Flash cookies are not permitted.
Latency
1. Pixels and tags cannot add any measurable latency to the page itself.
2. Pixels and tags must be edge cached.
3. Pixels and tags are limited to triggering only one DNS lookup at most.
4. Each pixel and tag request must be a direct request. No redirects are allowed.
5. Pixels and tags must lazy load after the ad is complete.
6. Pixels and tags must support https traffic at 3000+ transactions per second
(TPS.)
7. JavaScript size must be under 1K.
Use of Cookies
1. Cookies must expire within the agreed upon time frame in the legal
agreement (varies by vendor, please reference the signed legal agreement.)
2. No use of scripts or code that attempt to identify users or browsing history or
collect Personally Identifiable Information (PII).
3. No use of tracking mechanisms, such as cookies, for the purpose of
re-targeting, segment categorization, or syndication related to Amazon
inventory or users. (Please reference the signed legal agreement.)
4. A complete list of qualified third-party technical vendors and their
restrictions can be found above.
Amazon Services LLC ("Amazon") has set forth the above advertising policies and
specifications to help guide advertisers and their agencies in preparing
advertisements for display on the Amazon websites. These policies and
specifications apply to the advertising creative that appears on Amazon websites,
any technology or software used to serve and display the advertisements, and the
landing pages that appear when a user clicks on such advertisements (collectively,
"Advertiser Content"). This document outlines our standard policies and
specifications. Minor differences may exist in international locales (e.g.,
Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de and Amazon.co.jp). Please check with your account team.
These policies are intended to help guide advertisers, but the advertiser is solely
liable for the Advertiser Content, notwithstanding Amazon's acceptance of an
insertion order or display of such advertisements.
Amazon reserves the right to add, remove or modify this policy at any time by
placing updated advertising policies on Amazon. Amazon reserves the right to reject
or remove any advertisements at any time in its sole discretion.
Certified Third Party Ad Servers for Mobile Ads
At this time, third party ad serving is not available. All mobile media must be site
served. For clarification, since Celtra is our in- house solution for rich media, we do
not consider the ads served by them to be third party.
Certified Third Party Tracking for Mobile Ads
Impression and click tracking is supported for link out and link in campaigns.
Requests for third-parties that are not already qualified must be submitted for
certification to Amazon at least 30 days in advance of the applicable campaign.
The following table is a comprehensive list of all currently certified third party ad
tracking for mobile ads:
Third Party
North America
Europe
Japan
DoubleClick
X
X
X
MediaMind
X
X
X
MediaPlex
X
Atlas*
X
X
X
Velti**
X
Medialets
X
* Requires “cachebuster” implementation.
** Certified on a per campaign basis (need to submit request per campaign at this
time).
Certified Third Party Rich Media Providers for Mobile Ads
While we have plans to certify more partners at a later date, currently Celtra is the
sole provider of third party rich media.
Production Timelines
Advert Launch Time
Advert starts no earlier than midnight (12AM), Eastern Standard Time. Specific
times can be discussed.
Required Assets for Amazon Creative Services
Pre-existing standard advert units for reference, layered PSD files, logos,
backgrounds, key art, SWF and FLA files, fonts, advertising copy & brand guidelines
Production Schedules Based on Ad Product
Static Media
Medium Rectangle
Leaderboard
Wide Skyscraper
Detail Page Navigation Unit
Seller Central Login Page Rectangle
Seller Central Home Page Rectangle
Seller Central Application Pages Button
Rich Media
Marquee Pushdown
Mini-Marquee
Mini-Marquee Pushdown
Home
Page Pushdown
Wish List Sponsorship
(Marquee)
Destination Pages
eCommerce Ads
Add to Basket
Customer Reviews
3 Business Days for Rich Media File Validation
(Standard process)
5 Business Days for Amazon Creative Services
(Design and implementation)
10 Business Days for Amazon Creative Services
(Concept, design and implementation)
Additional SLA will apply on a case-by-case basis
for Amazon Custom Projects (Concept, design
and implementation)
10 Business Days for Amazon Creative Services 15 Business Days from October to December
(Design and implementation)
15 Business Days for Amazon Creative Services
(Concept, design and implementation)
Additional SLA will apply on a case-by-case basis
for Amazon Custom Projects (Concept, design
and implementation)
20 Business Days for Amazon Creative Services
(Concept, design and implementation)
Additional SLA will apply on a case-by-case basis
for Amazon Custom Projects (Concept, design
and implementation)
5 Business Days for Amazon Creative Services
(Concept, design and implementation)
Additional SLA will apply on a case-by-case basis
for Amazon Custom Projects (Concept, design
and implementation)
If advertising content is late or does not comply with Amazon's advertising policies,
Amazon reserves the right to extend the campaign by the number of days the
advertising content was late in order to reach the contracted impression goals.
However, Amazon will work with the applicable advertiser or agency to deliver all
impressions within the contracted flight dates pending placement and available
inventory. If Amazon has not received creative assets within 3 days of campaign
launch, Amazon will release inventory for all placements without assets. While we
cannot guarantee the contracted impressions will still be available at a later time,
we will work proactively to revise media plans accordingly.