Finding high-quality visuals shouldn’t slow down your ad creation. Whether you’re building digital campaigns, catalog ads, or HTML5 creatives, free stock platforms can help you move faster - without compromising quality or compliance.
In digital marketing, visuals often speak louder than text. Whether you’re creating display ads, social media campaigns, or landing pages, the right image can instantly capture attention, convey emotion, and reinforce your brand message.
But finding high-quality visuals that align with your campaign goals can be challenging - especially when budgets are tight or deadlines are short. Stock image libraries have made that process easier, and in recent years, free stock platforms have become powerful alternatives to traditional paid services.
For Campaign Builder users, this is especially valuable. When you’re building HTML5 or catalog ads inside the platform, having easy access to free, high-quality visuals helps you stay creative without slowing down production.
In this article, we’ll look at the best free stock image and video resources available today, explain how Creative Commons Zero (CC0) licensing works, and show how you can access free visuals directly from Campaign Builder through our Pixabay integration.
Before downloading any image or video, it’s essential to understand what you’re allowed to do with it. Licensing determines whether you can edit, use, or distribute the asset - and whether you must credit the creator.
One of the most widely used licenses for free creative content is Creative Commons Zero (CC0). This license allows creators to release their work into the public domain, giving anyone the right to:
Use the image or video for personal or commercial purposes
Modify, edit, or combine it with other content
Distribute it freely without attribution
In other words, CC0 media is completely free to use - even for marketing and commercial campaigns - with no credit required.
However, there are still a few best practices to keep in mind:
Always verify that an image is explicitly marked as CC0 or has a similar public domain license.
Avoid using identifiable people or branded content in ways that could imply endorsement.
When possible, credit the creator as a gesture of respect, even if not required.
You can read more about Creative Commons Zero licensing here
Free stock platforms have come a long way. What used to be a small collection of amateur photos has evolved into massive, curated libraries with millions of professional-grade assets.
Here are some of the main benefits marketers experience when using them:
1. Cost efficiency: Perfect for startups, agencies, and teams that produce high volumes of creative assets but need to control costs.
2. Creative flexibility: CC0 licensing allows you to crop, recolor, or repurpose visuals freely across different ad formats.
3. Speed: No need for procurement or licensing delays. You can find what you need and use it immediately.
4. Quality: Many free platforms now rival paid stock sites in quality and diversity - with photos, videos, vectors, and even 3D renders.
Below is a curated selection of trusted sources where you can find free, high-quality visuals for your next campaign. These platforms are particularly useful for digital ads, social media content, and marketing visuals built inside Campaign Builder.
Pixabay is one of the largest and most trusted free stock platforms, offering over 4 million images, videos, and illustrations under the CC0 license.
The best part? Pixabay is built directly into Campaign Builder.
That means you can search, preview, and insert visuals from Pixabay without ever leaving the platform. Whether you’re designing an HTML5 banner or a catalog ad, you can browse stock assets right inside the builder, ensuring your creative workflow stays fast and efficient.
Pixabay covers a wide range of categories - from product and lifestyle imagery to abstract textures, icons, and motion clips. You can even find transparent PNGs and vector graphics suitable for design overlays.
Why marketers love Pixabay:
Built-in integration with Campaign Builder
Reliable CC0 license
Large and diverse library (photos, videos, vectors)
No registration required
Pexels has become a go-to source for both images and videos, all available under a license similar to CC0. Their content quality is consistently high, with an editorial feel that suits modern brands.The platform also has strong search functionality - perfect when you’re trying to match a visual style across multiple ad formats.
Highlights:
Free to use for personal and commercial projects
Excellent for authentic lifestyle and social content
High-quality vertical and horizontal video clips
Unsplash has a more curated, artistic approach compared to other platforms. The visuals feel editorial and are often used in brand storytelling, presentations, and minimalist campaigns.While Unsplash’s license is not identical to CC0, it still allows for broad commercial use without attribution.
Highlights:
Strong editorial and creative aesthetic
Excellent for brand storytelling visuals
Fast loading and easy to browse
Burst was originally created by Shopify to help eCommerce businesses access free, high-quality visuals for online stores and marketing campaigns.
It’s particularly useful for product imagery, business settings, and lifestyle scenes — perfect for brands that sell online or promote through catalog ads.
Highlights:
Curated for eCommerce and retail use
Royalty-free and high-resolution
Well-categorized for marketing themes
Accessing free visuals directly within Campaign Builder is simple and designed to speed up your creative process.
Open your project: Go to your active campaign and select the creative where you want to add an image.
Click “Add Image”: In the asset selection dialog, choose the Pixabay tab.
Search for visuals: Type a keyword (e.g., “summer,” “product mockup,” “city skyline”).
Preview and insert: Browse results, click Insert, and the image will appear directly in your selected folder, now ready to drag into your canvas.
This seamless integration removes the need to download, resize, and re-upload visuals - everything happens inside your workspace.
Pixabay’s CC0 licensing ensures you can use and modify the images freely across your campaigns, whether for display ads, catalog promotions, or social placements.
Even with CC0 licensing, there are creative and ethical best practices to follow when incorporating stock visuals into your marketing materials:
Stay on-brand: Use visuals that match your color palette, tone, and message. Even the best stock image can feel disconnected if it doesn’t align with your brand identity.
Edit and customize: Apply filters, overlays, or animations to make the image feel unique. Campaign Builder’s built-in tools make it easy to animate and layer visuals for a more dynamic ad experience.
Be mindful of people and products: Avoid implying endorsements from recognizable people or brands, even if the media is free to use.
Optimize file sizes: Large image or video files can slow down ad load times. Always compress visuals appropriately for digital use.
Test visuals: A/B testing different images in your Campaign Builder ads can reveal which visuals drive better engagement and conversion.
Free stock platforms are excellent for most marketing use cases, but there are moments when premium visuals are worth the investment - especially when you need exclusive content, niche subjects, or consistent art direction across campaigns.
Platforms like Adobe Stock, Shutterstock, or Envato Elements offer licensed collections that can complement your free library and ensure you’re covered legally for more complex projects.
The best strategy for most marketers is a hybrid approach: start with free CC0 assets for early concepts and A/B testing, then move to premium assets once you know what performs.
Free stock image and video platforms have transformed how marketers create. With resources like Pixabay, Pexels, and Unsplash, high-quality visuals are more accessible than ever - and with Campaign Builder’s built-in Pixabay integration, you can use them instantly while building your campaigns.
Understanding the CC0 license and following a few creative best practices ensures you get the most from these resources - legally
.jpg)
