VAST (Video Ad Serving Template) tags use the XML (eXtensible Markup Language) format. XML is a text-based format for representing structured information. If the XML file used by the VAST tag is empty, invalid, or has syntax errors, your creative will be rejected.
Step 1: Preview the creative
If you have have access to Display & Video 360, follow these steps:
- Open the creative.
- On the "Details" tab, click Preview. The preview opens in a new window. The video player loads with a placeholder video of a person driving a car.
- Click play to preview your video ad. If your preview plays, you can close the preview and look for problems in the XML file.
- If there's a problem with your video ad, you'll only see the placeholder video play. Contact your ad server and ask them to fix the video creative.
If you don't have access to Display & Video 360, but you do have the VAST tag, follow these steps:
- Open the Video suite inspector.
- Select Vast tag for the input type.
- Click Test Ad.
Step 2: Check the XML file used by your VAST tag
Follow the steps below to read the XML file and look for problems.
- Copy the VAST tag URL from your creative.
- Open a blank browser tab.
- Paste the copied URL in the browser's address bar and press Enter. The XML file will load. If the tag is wrapped, you
- You should be able to see the following details in the XML:
- VAST version
- Video duration
- Impression or event tracking
- Media files with dimensions, format, and bit rate
- If the XML file includes a line with
<Wrapper>, the tag is wrapped, and the file you're looking at is the wrapper. Copy the URL you see below<VASTAdTagURI>, this is the original VAST tag. Repeat steps 3 and 4.
Step 3: Check for common problems
VAST tag is invalid or empty
If you can preview the creative without any problems, and the XML file loads in a browser, there might be a problem with the VAST that's causing it to look empty or an error in the file that's causing a problem that's not visible in the preview.
Contact your ad server and ask them to fix the video creative.
Creative doesn't work without cookies
If the creative uses cookies, it needs to have a default ad that can serve when cookies are turned off, or the creative will be rejected.
Use an incognito window to check if the creative doesn't work without cookies
Note: This test will only work the first time you load the file. If you refresh the window, you are likely to have the missing cookie, and the XML will load.
- Copy the VAST tag URL from your creative.
- Open an incognito window in your browser.
- Paste the copied URL in the address bar of the incognito window and press Enter. The XML file will load.
- If the XML file is empty, then the creative may be using cookies. Cookies are commonly needed when using targeting criteria like sequential rotation, frequency caps, or audience segmentation.
- If the creative isn't hosted in Campaign Manager 360, contact your ad server and ask them to fix the video creative to make sure it works when cookies are turned off.
- If the video creative is hosted in Campaign Manager 360, open the synced Campaign Manager 360 placement and add a default in-stream video ad. If you prefer not to use default ads, you can add an ad with no targeting to the placement and assign it a low priority. This ad will serve when cookies are turned off. After you fix the creative, allow about an hour for the updated creative to sync to Display & Video 360.
Problems with synced Campaign Manager 360 campaign
If the creative is synced from Campaign Manager 360:
- In Display & Video 360, open the creative and copy the CM360 ID.
- Open Campaign Manager 360 and paste the ID in the search bar.
- Press Enter to search, then open the placement.
- Make sure the creative and ad are assigned to the placement and that all 3 are active. If they're not active, set them to active.
- Make sure the start date of the placement, creative, and ad are not in the future. If they are, set them to the current time so they can start serving.
- Make sure the site, campaign, and advertiser are active and none of them have an "on hold" status. If the advertiser is on hold, set it to approved, then activate its ads.
- Save your changes, then wait about an hour for the updates to sync to Display & Video 360.
Video VAST is malformed due to empty XML
The provided VAST XML is not structured correctly or is missing required elements.
Why is this creative rejected?
The ad file you provided is empty. We couldn't parse or serve the creative because there is no VAST XML content to read.
The ad file you provided is empty. We couldn't parse or serve the creative because there is no VAST XML content to read.
How to fix it
- Verify file content: Work with your ad provider to ensure the VAST tag URL points to a file that contains valid ad code and is not empty.
- Validate VAST XML: Use the Google Video Suite Inspector to test your VAST tag URL and confirm it returns content.
- Resave Creative: After you ensure the URL returns valid VAST XML, edit and resave the creative to trigger a new review.
Video VAST is malformed due to failed vast fetching
The provided VAST XML is not structured correctly or is missing required elements.
Why is this creative rejected?
The VAST tag cannot be fetched from the third-party server. This can happen if the server doesn't respond, the link is incorrect, or the request timed out.
The VAST tag cannot be fetched from the third-party server. This can happen if the server doesn't respond, the link is incorrect, or the request timed out.
How to fix it
- Check link: Verify that the VAST tag URL is correct and active. You can test it using the Google Video Suite Inspector.
- Contact ad provider: Work with your ad provider to ensure their third-party server is running and responding to requests in a timely manner.
- Resave creative: After you fix the server connection or link, edit and resave the creative to trigger a new review.
Video VAST is malformed due to unexpected root node or root node name
The provided VAST XML is not structured correctly or is missing required elements.
Why is this creative rejected?
The ad file has an unexpected root node that doesn't follow the standard VAST structure. This prevents our systems from parsing the XML correctly.
The ad file has an unexpected root node that doesn't follow the standard VAST structure. This prevents our systems from parsing the XML correctly.
How to fix it
- Verify structure: Work with your ad provider to verify that the file has the correct root node (usually
<VAST>). - Export again: Export the file again using an approved ad generator to ensure it conforms to standard VAST structure.
- Validate VAST XML: Use the Google Video Suite Inspector to identify structural errors.
- Resave creative: After you correct the structure, edit and resave the creative to trigger a new review.
Video VAST is malformed due to missing or invalid VAST version
The provided VAST XML is not structured correctly or is missing required elements.
Why is this creative rejected?
The ad file has a missing or invalid VAST version number. We need a valid version number to know how to parse the file.
The ad file has a missing or invalid VAST version number. We need a valid version number to know how to parse the file.
How to fix it:
- Add/fix version: Work with your ad provider to add or correct the VAST version (for example, VAST 3.0 or 4.0) in the <VAST> tag at the beginning of your file (for example:
<VAST version="4.0">). - Validate VAST XML: Verify the changes using the Google Video Suite Inspector.
- Resave Creative: After you update the VAST file, edit and resave the creative to trigger a new review.
Video VAST is malformed due to unsupported VAST
The provided VAST XML is not structured correctly or is missing required elements.
Why is this creative rejected?
The VAST version specified in the ad file is not supported. The version is either too old or too new for our systems to process.
The VAST version specified in the ad file is not supported. The version is either too old or too new for our systems to process.
How to fix it
- Update version: Work with your ad provider to update or downgrade your VAST tag version to a supported one (typically VAST 2.0, 3.0, or 4.0).
- Validate VAST XML: Test the compatibility using the Google Video Suite Inspector.
- Resave creative: After you update the version to a supported one, edit and resave the creative to trigger a new review.
Video VAST is malformed due to incorrect parsing
The provided VAST XML is not structured correctly or is missing required elements.
Why is this creative rejected?
There was an error parsing a number in the VAST XML because text was found where a number was expected.
There was an error parsing a number in the VAST XML because text was found where a number was expected.
How to fix it:
- Check numeric fields: Work with your ad provider to check settings like width, height, or duration to make sure they use digits (such as
15instead offifteenor containing letters). - Validate VAST XML: Use the Google Video Suite Inspector to find the location of the parsing error.
- Resave creative: After correcting the values, edit and resave the creative to trigger a new review.
Video VAST is malformed due to invalid XML syntax
The provided VAST XML is not structured correctly or is missing required elements.
Why is this creative rejected?
The ad file contains invalid XML syntax (typos or formatting errors), which prevents it from being parsed.
The ad file contains invalid XML syntax (typos or formatting errors), which prevents it from being parsed.
How to fix it
- Correct syntax: Check the XML code for broken brackets, unclosed tags, or missing quotes.
- Consult web developer/provider: Work with your web developer or ad provider to fix the syntax errors.
- Validate VAST XML: Use the Google Video Suite Inspector to identify the exact line of the syntax error.
- Resave creative: After you fix the syntax, edit and resave the creative to trigger a new review.
Video VAST is malformed due to failed parsing node
The provided VAST XML is not structured correctly or is missing required elements.
Why is this creative rejected?
A specific node in the VAST XML file couldn't be read due to formatting issues like broken brackets or missing quotes.
A specific node in the VAST XML file couldn't be read due to formatting issues like broken brackets or missing quotes.
How to fix it:
- Re-export tag: Try re-exporting the tag from your ad manager to automatically fix any formatting issues.
- Manual check: Work with your ad provider to inspect the specific node mentioned in the validation errors (if any) and correct the formatting.
- Validate VAST XML: Use the Google Video Suite Inspector to verify the fix.
- Resave creative: After you fix the node, edit and resave the creative to trigger a new review.
Video VAST is malformed due to single child or mutually exclusive child notes
The provided VAST XML is not structured correctly or is missing required elements.
Why is this creative rejected?
The ad file contains conflicting instructions, such as too many child elements or mutually exclusive child nodes.
The ad file contains conflicting instructions, such as too many child elements or mutually exclusive child nodes.
How to fix it
- Clean up XML: Ensure you are not combining incompatible ad settings or templates in a single tag.
- Consult VAST specification: Work with your ad provider to ensure the XML structure follows IAB VAST guidelines regarding child nodes.
- Validate VAST XML: Use the Google Video Suite Inspector to find the conflicting nodes.
- Resave creative: After you resolve the conflicts, edit and resave the creative to trigger a new review.
Video VAST is malformed due to XML tags not found
The provided VAST XML is not structured correctly or is missing required elements.
Why is this creative rejected?
No XML tags were found in the VAST response. This link might lead to plain text, an HTML webpage, or a webpage error instead of a valid VAST ad file.
No XML tags were found in the VAST response. This link might lead to plain text, an HTML webpage, or a webpage error instead of a valid VAST ad file.
How to fix it
- Verify link destination: Ensure the VAST tag URL points directly to valid XML ad code, not to a landing page, raw HTML, or a text file.
- Validate VAST XML: Test the URL in the Google Video Suite Inspector to check what content is being returned.
- Resave creative: After you correct the URL to point to valid XML, edit and resave the creative to trigger a new review.
Video VAST is malformed due to endless redirect loop
The provided VAST XML is not structured correctly or is missing required elements.
Why is this creative rejected?
The ad link is stuck in an endless redirect loop. The wrappers in the VAST chain are pointing to each other, preventing the final ad creative from being reached.
The ad link is stuck in an endless redirect loop. The wrappers in the VAST chain are pointing to each other, preventing the final ad creative from being reached.
How to fix it
- Check redirect settings: Work with your ad provider to check the redirect settings in your ad server and ensure links do not point to each other.
- Ensure destination: Verify that the final destination of the redirects points to actual ad code, not back to one of the redirecting URLs.
- Validate VAST XML: Use the Google Video Suite Inspector to trace the redirect path and find the loop.
- Resave creative: After you resolve the loop, edit and resave the creative to trigger a new review.
Video VAST is malformed due to missing valid inline VAST
The provided VAST XML is not structured correctly or is missing required elements.
Why is this creative rejected?
A valid inline VAST ad wasn't found. This means that after following all redirects, the destination link does not contain a playable video file or valid ad creative.
A valid inline VAST ad wasn't found. This means that after following all redirects, the destination link does not contain a playable video file or valid ad creative.
How to fix it
- Verify media files: Work with your ad provider to ensure that the final VAST response contains at least one valid, playable media file (for example: MP4, WebM) with compatible types and resolution.
- Check redirect chain: Ensure that the redirect chain is not broken and successfully leads to the inline ad.
- Validate VAST XML: Use the Google Video Suite Inspector to confirm the presence of valid
MediaFiles. - Resave creative: After you include a valid creative in the VAST response, edit and resave the creative to trigger a new review.