The Meta Ads Andromeda update has completely shaken the ecommerce world—but no group has been hit harder than clothing brands.

Since April 2025, apparel founders have been messaging agencies, consultants, and marketing groups in a panic:

• “My ads used to print money. Now they’re barely breaking even.”
  
  

• “My ROAS has tanked.”
  
  

• “Nothing is spending. I think my account is broken.”
  
  

But the truth is far more surprising…

Clothing brands are not struggling because Meta Ads became harder.
They’re struggling because they’re following outdated strategies that no longer apply after Andromeda.

This is the first real shift in how Meta’s ad delivery system handles targeting, budgeting, creative, and campaign structure since the original Advantage+ Shopping rollout years ago. And unfortunately, most brands are still running their ads like it’s 2021.

This article will break down, in plain English:

• What Meta actually changed (and what they didn’t)
  
  

• Why 90% of clothing brand advice online is now dead wrong
  
  

• The single framework that apparel brands must adopt to scale
  
  

• The 10 creative “concept types” that Meta’s AI prefers
  
  

• How to stop wasting time on adset duplication, interests, and “hacks”
  
  

• The exact campaign structure used by agencies producing millions monthly
  
  

If you take the time to fully understand this, you will never run your clothing brand’s ads the same way again.

1. The Andromeda Update: What Really Happened (And What Didn’t)

There’s a lot of confusion around Meta’s massive 2025 Andromeda update. Many creators framed it as a total system overhaul that would change Ads Manager forever.

But here’s the truth:

The update isn’t new—it finally finished.

Meta actually began rolling out major parts of Andromeda way back in April 2025. But the full rollout didn’t complete until late August into early September 2025. That’s when most advertisers suddenly felt big shifts in:

• delivery
  
  

• spend distribution
  
  

• creative preference
  
  

• audience modeling
  
  

• and in particular… Advantage+ Sales Campaigns (ASC)
  
  

Meta clarified one core message:

Advantage+ is now the center of the entire ads system.
Every campaign, every placement, every audience will be pulled toward Advantage+ logic.

This is why you now see:

• rebranded advantage features
  
  

• more automation toggles
  
  

• AI-assisted creative everywhere
  
  

• forced consolidation
  
  

• less control at the adset level
  
  

• heavy optimization toward variety
  
  

But here’s the real reason advertisers are confused:

The interface didn’t radically change—only the logic behind it did.

You can still click the same buttons… but they don’t do what you think they do anymore.

2. Why Apparel Brands Are Struggling Post-Andromeda

Here’s the part no one wants to hear:

The problem is not Meta.
The problem is that clothing brands are trying to target the way they used to.

Every day, brand owners are still:

• duplicating adsets
  
  

• splitting budgets across three interest stacks
  
  

• building multiple campaigns for the same audience
  
  

• changing budgets manually
  
  

• forcing equal spend across ads
  
  

• “refreshing” broken campaigns by restarting them
  
  

This is the opposite of what Meta wants now.

**The biggest change?

Targeting no longer lives inside the adset. It lives inside the ad creative.**

This is the shift that wiped out thousands of apparel ad accounts overnight.

If you don’t understand this, nothing else will make sense.

3. What Meta Said About Advantage+ (And Why It Matters)

Meta announced that Advantage+ Sales Campaigns (formerly Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns) are now one of the platform’s fastest-growing AI-powered products.

Here’s what Meta emphasized:

1. Advantage+ uses AI to test huge numbers of ad variations automatically.

This means your job is no longer to force targeting.
Your job is to feed the machine more creative variety.

2. The system now adjusts budgets up or down day by day.

You’ll see days with huge spend spikes and days with almost no spend.
This is intentional—because AI is finding the highest-value moments.

3. Advertisers see ~9% lower CPA using the streamlined ASC setup.

(not because of “easier setup”… but because AI gets better information)

4. Meta is expanding Advantage+ Creative and AI-generated assets.

Ben & Jerry’s reported a 7% lift in link clicks using AI-enhanced creative.
This is not because they uploaded “better ads,” but because they uploaded more variety.

And that brings us to the biggest misunderstanding in apparel marketing today.

4. The Bad Advice Everyone Is Teaching (And Why It Fails Clothing Brands)

Let’s get into the myths that are destroying apparel ROAS across the board.

Myth #1: “Use multiple adsets to test audiences.”

This is now completely false.

Meta clearly states:

Adsets do not perform targeting anymore.

Not interests.
Not lookalikes.
Not saved audiences.

Yes, these options still exist—but they have almost zero downstream effect.

Why?

Because now Meta identifies specific people based on ad creative → content → user behavior.

Your ad creative is the actual targeting mechanism.

Two people can see the same adset with the same “interests” selected and get totally different ads based on what the system thinks they want.

So splitting adsets for “control” is useless.

Myth #2: “Control spend at the adset level so every ad gets equal budget.”

Brands do this constantly:

• adset 1 → $25
  
  

• adset 2 → $25
  
  

• adset 3 → $25
  
  

They believe this is “fair” testing.

But here’s the truth:

Why would you force equal spend if half those ads cannot produce profitable customers?

Meta’s system wants to:

• push spend into winners
  
  

• starve losers
  
  

• scale at the lowest CPA possible
  
  

When you force equal spend, you fight the AI.

You lose every time.

Myth #3: “Duplicate a winning adset to scale it.”

This used to work.

In 2018? Yes.
In 2020? Sometimes.
In 2022–2023? Rarely.

In 2025? Never.

Duplicating an adset does NOT:

• “reset the system”
  
  

• “hit a new pocket of the audience”
  
  

• “refresh performance”
  
  

• “wake the algorithm up”
  
  

It does nothing.

If a brand is duplicating adsets in 2025, they are spending hours on things that have zero effect on performance and only increase volatility.

Myth #4: “If a campaign is not working, restart it with the same settings.”

This is another outdated tactic.

If your creative is weak, restarting a campaign won’t magically fix it.

The problem is the content—not the setup.

Myth #5: “You need tons of creative.”

Nope.

You need variety, not quantity.

Most brands create:

• the same shirt on the same background
  
  

• the same angle
  
  

• with slightly different text
  
  

This is why spend gets stuck and ads don’t scale.

Meta sees these as duplicates, not meaningful variations.

What Meta wants instead is:

• one shirt, many different concepts
  
  

• one product, multiple creative styles
  
  

• one message, several formats
  
  

This is how you target new audiences without touching interests or adsets.

5. The Campaign Structure That Actually Works Post-Andromeda

Aaron demonstrated the exact structure used for clothing brands generating millions in monthly revenue.

It looks like this:

Key points:

1. Adsets are no longer “audiences”—they’re “concept containers.”

Each adset represents a concept, not a demographic.

Example concepts:

• “Us vs Them”
  
  

• “Founder Story”
  
  

• “Before & After”
  
  

• “Fabric Breakdown”
  
  

• “Lifestyle Demo”
  
  

Your job is not to target people using the adset.
Your job is to target people using the creative inside the adset.

2. Each concept should contain multiple diverse creative variations.

Variety means:

• image + video
  
  

• carousel + UGC
  
  

• studio photo + lifestyle photo
  
  

• founder talking + model showcasing product
  
  

• comparison carousel + single frame breakdown
  
  

This is what activates Meta's personalization engine.

One creative finds image-lovers.
One creative finds video-watchers.
One creative finds quick scrollers.
One creative finds click-first buyers.

Meta shows the right creative to the right person.

Your job is to give Meta options.

3. Ads = Targeting

This is the biggest mindset shift for 2025.

Individual ads now act like micro-audiences.

The system identifies thousands of micro-signals:

• who watches image vs video
  
  

• who clicks on fabric details
  
  

• who likes comparison content
  
  

• who pauses on founder stories
  
  

• who prefers static visuals
  
  

If a user historically interacts with:

• fit checks
  
  

• try-ons
  
  

• 4-way stretch demos
  
  

• fabric breakdowns
  
  

• comparison ads
  
  

Meta shows them those exact formats.

This means:

If you want a new audience, you don’t create a new adset—
you create a new creative format.

6. Why Similar Creatives Kill Your Ad Account

Most clothing brands unknowingly sabotage themselves by uploading:

• 4 of the same images
  
  

• 3 slight variants of the same video
  
  

• 2 carousels with identical frames
  
  

• 1 identical graphic with different captions
  
  

Meta sees these as:

• no variety
  
  

• no new information
  
  

• duplicates
  
  

Result?

The system picks ONE of them and stops spending on the others.

Your account becomes “limited” and you think you need more budget or new audiences.

But the truth is simple:

The system can’t scale your ads because every ad is essentially the same.

You don’t need more creative.
You need better variety.

7. The 10 Creative Concepts That Clothing Brands Should Use

Aaron referenced the 10 concept types they developed and refined across years of testing with apparel brands.

These 10 concepts consistently produce new pockets of customers:

1. Before & After

Show transformation—fit, stretch, shape, confidence, durability.

2. Bullet-Point Breakdown

Quick “why this product?” value stack.

3. Carousel Comparison

Swipe through benefits, materials, or features.

4. Founder Story

Why the brand was created; mission; origin.

5. Brand Lifestyle

A visual story showing the customer’s identity.

6. Graphics & Text-Based Ads

Bold claims, quick value props, and proof.

7. Us vs Them

Comparison: your shirt vs Lululemon, Cuts, etc.

8. UGC Try-On or Review

A real person wearing the product.

9. Feature Demonstration

4-way stretch, water resistance, pockets, fabric.

10. Problem/Solution

What issue your product solves (fit, sweat, comfort, durability).

Each of these hits a different psychological trigger, allowing Meta’s machine learning to find different types of shoppers.

8. The Creative Production Process Meta Actually Wants

Aaron shared a simple 3-stage creative framework:

1. Imitate

Start with proven concepts. No need to reinvent the wheel.

2. Iterate

Make noticeable changes:

• different background
  
  

• different angle
  
  

• new caption style
  
  

• new image format
  
  

• new hook
  
  

• new voiceover
  
  

The changes must be meaningful enough for Meta to categorize them as new creative types.

3. Innovate

Reserved for:

• brands spending $5k–$10k/day
  
  

• high-volume scaling
  
  

• wide audiences
  
  

• multi-angle content strategies
  
  

Most brands never need to reach this stage.

9. The #1 Reason Clothing Brands Fail on Meta in 2025

Here it is:

They think their ads aren’t working because of targeting…
When in reality their ads aren’t working because of creative.

If your ads aren't spending, don’t duplicate.
If your ROAS drops, don’t restart campaigns.
If your CPA climbs, don’t try new interest stacks.

Instead, ask:

• Do I have at least 3 different concepts?
  
  

• Does each concept have multiple creative formats?
  
  

• Do my ads look visibly different from each other?
  
  

• Am I giving Meta enough variety to find different people?
  
  

If not, no amount of “hacking the system” will save you.

10. The New Reality: Ads Do the Targeting. Campaigns Are Just Containers.

Look at the shift:

Old Meta (2019–2023)

• manual audience targeting
  
  

• interest stacks
  
  

• adset duplication
  
  

• 1–2 creative variations
  
  

• CBO vs ABO debates
  
  

• restart campaigns
  
  

• optimize budgets manually
  
  

New Meta (2025–Andromeda)

• audience discovery through creative variations
  
  

• AI-driven delivery
  
  

• Advantage+ everything
  
  

• campaigns as simple “containers”
  
  

• heavy creative diversification
  
  

• minimal manual interference
  
  

• stable scaling at the creative level
  
  

The brands winning in 2025 are the ones who’ve embraced this.

11. What This Means for Clothing Brands Moving Forward

If you understand apparel psychology, you’ll see why Meta made these changes.

Clothing shoppers behave inconsistently:

• some are visual
  
  

• some compare options
  
  

• some want to see the founder
  
  

• some want UGC
  
  

• some want fabric details
  
  

• some want before/after shots
  
  

One single ad can never serve all buyers.

Meta is responding by personalizing ads to individual users.

Your job is to give it options.

12. Final Takeaways (Read This Twice)

To win on Meta Ads in 2025 as a clothing brand:

1. Stop targeting with adsets.

Your ads perform targeting now.

2. Stop creating duplicate campaigns.

They don’t fix anything.

3. Stop duplicating adsets.

It’s a waste of time.

4. Stop forcing equal spend across ads.

Let AI push budget into winners.

5. Focus 90% of your effort on creative diversification.

Not quantity—variety.

6. Use concepts, not audiences.

Concepts = your new targeting strategy.

7. Build 3 concepts with 3 variations each (minimum).

This will transform your CPA.

**8. Think like Meta’s AI.

Feed it inputs—not hacks.**

If you want profitable ads, stop fighting Meta’s system and start giving it what it needs:

Diverse creative that targets diverse customers.

Brands who embrace this shift will scale.
Brands who ignore it will blame the algorithm forever.