Post ID vs. Creative ID: which relaunch strategy to choose

When you relaunch ads you already have in your account, uplads lets you choose how each one is recreated. The choice comes down to a single trade-off: do you want to keep the existing post's social proof, or start with a clean slate? This article explains the two strategies, how to pick them in the wizard, and how Advantage+ ads behave differently.

If you haven't found the relaunch flow yet, start with Relaunch existing ads into new ad sets. You pick the ads in the Existing Ads tab in Step 1, then choose the strategy in Step 4 (Review).

The two strategies

Copy with Post ID rebuilds each new ad from the original Facebook or Instagram post. Because every new ad points at the same post, its likes, comments, and shares carry over. This is the social-proof option — your relaunched ad starts with whatever engagement the original already earned.

Copy as new ad creates a fresh creative on Meta. The ad content is the same, but likes, comments, and shares start at zero. There is no shared post behind it.

uplads auto-detects a sensible default when you select an ad, then shows both options as two cards at the top of the Review summary. You can switch the whole batch with one click, or mix and match per ad.

When to use each

• Use Copy with Post ID when the original post has earned real engagement you want to keep — proven creatives, retargeting variants, or any ad where comments and reactions add credibility. All new ads share one post, so engagement pools across every ad set you relaunch into.
• Use Copy as new ad when you want a clean start: a brand-new test, an ad whose old comments you'd rather leave behind, or a multi-format / multi-placement ad that can't be rebuilt from a single post.

Be honest with yourself about engagement: Post ID keeps it, Copy as new resets it. There's no way to copy likes onto a brand-new post.

How Advantage+ and image-DCO posts behave

Advantage+ (dynamic / DCO) ads are the exception, because their post isn't exposed through Meta's public API the way a normal ad's is.

• Advantage+ video ads can keep their engagement, but uplads can't fetch the post id automatically. On that row you'll see a Set post… action — paste the post or reel link (from the ad preview's share menu) and uplads validates it, then keeps the likes and comments.
• Advantage+ image ads have no single reusable post, so uplads automatically keeps them on Copy as new. You'll see a small ? on the row explaining why.
• Multi-format / multi-placement ads also stay on Copy as new — they can't be rebuilt from one post.

Picking the strategy in Review

1. Select your ads in the Existing Ads tab (Step 1) and continue through targeting and text.
2. In Step 4 (Review), find the two cards in the Summary: Copy as new ad and Copy with Post ID. Click one to apply it to the whole batch.
3. For any individual ad, use the toggle on its row to override — flip between Post ID and Copy as new, or use Set post… for Advantage+ video.
4. The badges below the cards confirm the split, e.g. "N via Post ID (keeps social proof)" and "N via Creative ID".

If you ask for Post ID on an ad whose post Meta won't rebuild (such as a catalog or Advantage+ source), uplads falls back to reusing the source creative. The new ad still renders the same post so engagement carries over — but Ads Manager will show the creative editor instead of "Use Existing Post". uplads surfaces this so you know exactly what happened.

When you're happy with the split, continue to Launch. For the wider walkthrough, see Relaunch existing ads into new ad sets.