Sponsored Brands Custom Images: Same SKU, Empty Headline, Off MAIN

A Sponsored Brands custom image is a paid still that sits next to a headline, a logo, and a product collection Amazon Ads will assemble. It is not MAIN, not a Brand Store tile, not a listing gallery file, and not a poster of invented “50% off” or “Lightning Deal.” Lock the true product first. Leave the headline, logo, price, and event name out of the pixels. Amazon’s product image help (as of 2026) still wants MAIN to be a realistic image of the actual product on a white field (RGB 255, 255, 255), the item filling most of the frame, JPEG/PNG/TIFF, and enough pixels for zoom (plan 1,000 px or more on the long edge; the live help lists a 500 px floor and a 10,000 px ceiling). Amazon Ads currently documents a landscape custom image in the 1200×628 class (about 1.91:1) for several Sponsored Brands placements—confirm the live Sponsored Brands creative specs for the product-collection, store-spotlight, or video companion you buy. About Amazon set Prime Big Deal Days for October 6–7, 2026, starting 12:01 a.m. PDT, with 48 hours of member deals across more than 35 categories. OpenAI launched ChatGPT Images 2.5 on September 8, 2026, and said it keeps a subject more stably while you change one element—use that to change crop and empty bands, not the SKU. FreeGPTImg is a GPT Image 2 workspace: 20 daily free credits, no credit card required. Overlay the real headline last.

Draft the still in FreeGPTImg. Keep materials honest in AI product photography, cut a catalog crop in the Amazon product photo generator, lock a clean field in the white-background product photo tool, stage one in-home crop with the lifestyle product photo generator, upload a locked hero into image to image when you only change the ad crop, recrop a social cut in AI social media ads only after the paid still is honest, and stay on GPT Image 2 for the loop in front of you. Do not put ad chrome on MAIN.

What a Sponsored Brands custom image actually does

Shoppers who see a Sponsored Brands unit in search or on a product page are answering “is this the brand I meant?” The custom image answers with one honest product and empty zones for a headline and logo. MAIN answers with the product as sold—usually assembled, on white, filling the frame. A Brand Store tile answers navigation inside a storefront. A listing gallery still answers a feature, a scale question, or an in-use pose. A paid social still answers a campaign crop. The SB still answers paid discovery: one SKU the collection actually contains.

The empty headline is a layout, not a claim. If the skillet is 10 inches, do not generate a 12-inch silhouette “for drama.” If the throw is heather gray, do not invent a Prime-smile orange. If the ad collection is one kettle, do not park four extra gadgets that are not in that campaign. A comparison board of two SKUs is a different job. An A+ module with a lifestyle story is a different job. This still is one offer, one empty headline band, and the true silhouette.

ChatGPT Images 2.5 can keep a subject while you change one layout. That is the SB-image job: keep the kettle, change the crop to landscape, leave the right third or lower band empty. It is not permission to add a Prime smile, a five-star strip, or “Today’s Big Deals.” FreeGPTImg runs GPT Image 2. Write the model you used into the file name.

Do not prompt studio wordmarks you do not own, “best of 2026” bursts, medical seals, prices, or Amazon trademarks. Photorealistic AI people are a separate policy: if a marketplace or ads console requires a contains-synthetic-performer tag in IPTC/XMP, apply it in an editor. Prefer a quiet tabletop, a real fall table, or the product itself. Never generate a child holding a Deal Days board. ChatGPT’s October 1, 2026 Try on flow is a shopper preview on clothing listings, not a Sponsored Brands file.

Pick one slot before you generate

Weak SB sets fail because they ask for a white MAIN, a 1200×628 custom image, a square logo, a price burst, and a Story crop in one pass. Name the slot first.

Slot job	Working crop	Start from	Change one thing	Keep	Wrong move
SB custom image	Landscape, ~1.91:1	Locked SKU, even light	Empty headline / logo band	True silhouette, empty type	“50% off,” dates, Prime smile, stars
SB logo	Square	A mark you actually own	Nothing	True wordmark or icon	Invented serifs, Amazon smile
MAIN (not this job)	Square, white field	Product as sold	Crop only	Pure white, no ad chrome	Headlines or nav on MAIN
Brand Store tile (different job)	Square	Same SKU	Empty event band	One offer per tile	Using an SB still as MAIN
Social recrop	1:1 or 4:5 or 9:16	One SB still	Crop only	Empty headline	Baking “Deal Days” into pixels
Listing gallery (different job)	Square additional	Same SKU	Feature, scale, or in-use	Catalog rules	Using an SB lifestyle as MAIN

MAIN is not a paid-search poster. An SB custom image is not MAIN. A lifestyle room is not a price sticker. Generate large, then recrop in an editor to the box Amazon Ads actually shows. Overlay real words later. Percents, dates, “October 6–7,” “Lightning Deal,” URLs, and prices never belong in the generator if they must be exact.

Amazon’s help still treats MAIN as the product as sold, without text, logos, borders, or watermarks covering the item. Additional listing images have more room for context, but they are still not Sponsored Brands chrome. SB stills live in Amazon Ads, not in the MAIN slot. Recheck the live product-image help and the live Amazon Ads Sponsored Brands creative specs before you upload. Empty headline bands are the cheap way to stay inside that line while a manager signs the overlay.

Sponsored Brands still workflow

Use the same sequence in product-photo tools, an image-to-image pass, a GPT Image 2 tab, or ChatGPT Images 2.5.

1. Write the offer in five lines. SKU truth (one offer, true materials, true pack count), the campaign name you will overlay later, slot name, crop, empty type zones. If a product is not in that Sponsored Brands collection, it is not in the still.
2. Lock one as-sold hero. White field, even light, product filling most of the frame. This still is MAIN. Do not put headlines, logos, or sale bursts here.
3. Write keep / change / do-not. Keep silhouette, materials, finish, pack count, and the exact SKU. Change only the crop and the empty-band layout. Do not add Amazon marks, seals, QR codes, Prime logos, ranking bursts, extra products, or extra accessories.
4. Generate one landscape custom image from the locked hero. One pass, one product, one empty right third or lower band. File names like kettle-sb-custom-1200x628.jpg. If turn two invents a second kettle, revert to the locked hero and try again.
5. Optional lifestyle companion. Same lighting, same SKU, quiet scene (a fall table only if that SKU is actually a hosting item you sell). Large empty headline band. Do not let the model write “Prime Big Deal Days,” “Oct 6–7,” or “55% off.” Overlay those in Amazon Ads or an editor after someone checks the live campaign.
6. Match the crop. Landscape ~1.91:1 for many SB custom images (plan 1200×628 class, generate larger if you can, then recrop). Square for a logo you already own. 1:1 or 9:16 only as a social recrop. Confirm the live Amazon Ads spec for the placement you buy. Do not stretch a white MAIN into a 1.91:1 field and call it a custom image.
7. Inspect the product before mood. A kettle that grew a whistle it does not ship, a throw that changed colorway, a sixth finger on a hosting hand, or a band reading “50% OFF” are stop conditions. Hold the still next to the real product. If a stranger would think this ad contains a SKU it does not, discard it.
8. Overlay copy last. In Amazon Ads or an editor, set the real headline, the real logo, and only the claims a manager signed. Keep ad files in the format that channel lists (often JPEG or PNG, RGB, enough pixels for the placement). Keep marketplace MAIN files on the product-image rules, not the ad-image rules.

OpenAI’s Images 2.5 notes still help if you never open ChatGPT: keep the subject, edit one element, expect earlier choices to survive later turns. That is an SB-image rule. Change the crop. Do not invent a second SKU.

Amazon’s October 6–7, 2026 Prime Big Deal Days window is a deadline for honest paid stills, not a brief to stamp “Deal,” “Today’s Big Deals,” or “50% off” on the pixels. Event copy lives in Amazon Ads and Seller Central. The photo still has to look like the product that ships. A fake skillet size is a return and a policy risk, not a conversion trick.

Prompt formula

Sponsored Brands custom still, not a MAIN hero and not a “50% off / Lightning Deal” poster.
Product: one [SKU], accurate silhouette, materials, finish, and pack count.
Slot: [landscape SB custom / square logo you own / MAIN as-sold / social recrop].
Scene: [quiet tabletop / honest fall table only if this SKU is a hosting item / white field for MAIN].
Keep: empty headline, empty logo plate, empty percent, empty date band.
Change only: [the landscape crop / the empty-band layout].
Text in image: none. No prices, percents, dates, QR codes, watermarks, or marketplace badges.
Do not add: extra SKUs, Prime logos, five stars, sale bursts, Amazon wordmarks, celebrity hands, children.

Prompt examples

Landscape kettle custom. “Landscape Sponsored Brands custom image of one matte stainless 1.5 L kettle, even catalog light, quiet light-gray field. Large empty right third for a later headline. No second kettle, no mug set, no Prime badge, no ‘50% off’ type.”

Fall-hosting lifestyle, empty band. “Wide SB still of the same kettle on a quiet oak table, one linen napkin, even indoor light. Empty lower third for later overlay. No printed ‘Prime Big Deal Days,’ no ‘Oct 6–7,’ no prices, no extra cookware.”

Image-to-image, crop only. “Image-to-image: keep this exact kettle silhouette, steel finish, and studio lighting. Recrop to a 1.91:1 landscape custom image and add only one empty right band. No extra objects, no text, no second kettle.”

MAIN, as sold. “Square catalog still of the same kettle standing assembled, true stainless finish, even studio light, pure white background RGB 255 255 255. Product fills most of the frame. No headlines, no ad chrome, no readable slogans.”

Social recrop. “1:1 recrop of the landscape still, kettle in the middle third, empty lower band for later overlay. No ‘Deal Days’ type, no percentages, no platform UI chrome.”

Logo (only if you own it). “Square crop of our existing kettle wordmark on a quiet field, true letterforms, no extra tagline. Do not invent a new logo. Do not add an Amazon smile.”

Review the pixels before you upload

Zoom to 100%. A phone grid hides a fake lid.

• Subject honesty. Same silhouette, materials, finish, pack count, and SKU. Only products in that Sponsored Brands collection. If a stranger would think this ad contains a SKU it does not, discard the still.
• Slot honesty. White MAIN stays as-sold and unpropped. SB stills stay off MAIN. Lifestyle shows one hero item unless the SKU is a set you actually pack.
• Empty type. Headlines, logos you will place in Ads, percents, dates, prices, Prime marks, review stars, and Amazon wordmarks stay empty of anything you need people to read.
• People and file. No recognizable generated faces you cannot clear. No children. JPG or PNG, RGB, enough pixels for the placement, no watermark, no QR. Preview on a phone and as a landscape card.
• Provenance. OpenAI still uses C2PA metadata and an invisible watermark on GPT Image outputs. Downstream apps may keep, strip, or flag that data. A prettier ad still is not a license.

Limitations you should not skip

A generated still is not Amazon Ads approval, not a Sponsored Brands-spec substitute, and not a commercial-rights grant. FreeGPTImg does not upload into Amazon Ads, Seller Central, or a retailer CMS. Do not upload someone else’s SB still “to see the style,” and do not imitate a competitor’s badge set. If a platform requires AI disclosure, follow that policy. ChatGPT Images 2.5 is not GPT Image 2; on FreeGPTImg you are in a GPT Image 2 loop. If turn three adds a second kettle, revert. Do not generate medical, “#1 2026,” or “Lightning Deal” badges unless those claims are already on the real label and a manager signed them. Recheck live marketplace help for MAIN background, file type, additional-image rules, pixel floors, and live Amazon Ads Sponsored Brands sizes before you publish.

FAQ

What is an Amazon Sponsored Brands custom image?

It is a paid still that sits next to a headline and logo in a Sponsored Brands unit: usually a landscape custom image, an optional lifestyle companion, a square logo you already own, and a recrop if you need social. It is not MAIN. MAIN is the product as sold. FreeGPTImg runs this on GPT Image 2, with 20 daily free credits and no credit card required.

What size should I generate?

Do not treat a social crop as your only canvas. Plan a landscape still in the 1200×628 class (about 1.91:1) for many Sponsored Brands custom images, generate larger if you can, then confirm the live Amazon Ads spec for the placement you buy. Listing MAIN still follows product-image help: plan 1,000 px or more on the long edge. Stretching a white MAIN into a 1.91:1 field is how the product falls out of the safe area.

Should I put “Prime Big Deal Days” or “50% off” in the image?

No. Exact event names, dates, and percents belong in Amazon Ads or overlay after someone checks the live campaign. Leave those bands empty. Invented discounts are a review risk and a returns problem.

Can a Sponsored Brands custom image be MAIN?

Usually no. MAIN is the product as sold on a white field, without extra headlines or ad chrome. Put the custom image in Amazon Ads. If the offer is a set, MAIN can show the set as sold—not a comic of four badges plus a sale burst.

Can I use a ChatGPT Try on selfie as a Sponsored Brands still?

No. OpenAI’s October 1, 2026 Try on flow is a shopper preview on clothing and accessory listings. It is not a Sponsored Brands file and not MAIN. Generate a catalog-honest product still, then recrop.

Why did the model invent a second kettle?

The prompt asked for “collection,” “brand story,” or “fall hosting table” without locking one SKU. Shorten it. One offer. One empty band. Generate again. If extra products still appear, lock a white-background hero of the real product first, then run image-to-image with “recrop to landscape, add one empty band only, change nothing else.”

Sources

• Amazon Seller Central: Product image requirements
• Amazon Ads: Sponsored Brands ad specs
• Amazon Ads: Sponsored Brands
• About Amazon: Prime Big Deal Days is back October 6-7
• OpenAI: Introducing ChatGPT Images 2.5
• OpenAI: Image generation
• OpenAI: ChatGPT release notes
• C2PA: Content Credentials

Make one Sponsored Brands still on FreeGPTImg

Write five lines for one offer and the campaign it belongs in. Ask for empty headline bands. Open FreeGPTImg, run the job in AI product photography or the Amazon product photo generator, keep MAIN white in the white-background product photo tool, stage one honest in-home crop in the lifestyle product photo generator, change crop from a locked hero in image to image, recrop social only after the paid still is honest in AI social media ads, stay on GPT Image 2 when that is the model in front of you, and overlay the real headline only after the still matches the product you ship.