How to Make an Unboxing Video That Converts

An unboxing video is the easiest UGC format to film and one of the easiest to waste. The product does most of the work, the shots are obvious, and brands still end up with a file nobody can cut into an ad.

Usually nobody agreed what to film before the box was opened, and there is only ever one first opening.

So here is what to put in an unboxing brief, the 17 shots to film, the two seconds that decide whether the ad gets watched, and the setup it takes to shoot.

TL;DR

• An unboxing video is a recording of someone opening a new product's packaging and revealing what is inside for the first time.
• Ask the brief for a genuine first opening, full usage rights, both a 60-second and a 15-second version, and b-roll as separate files.
• The full shot list runs to 17 shots across five stages, from the sealed box to the first use.
• Almost everything a viewer remembers about an ad is set in its first six seconds, so the reveal cannot wait until the end.
• A phone, a window and a clean surface cover the setup. Lighting and sound matter more than the camera.

What is an unboxing video?

An unboxing video is a recording of someone opening the packaging of a new product and revealing what is inside for the first time. While the creator unpacks it, they talk through the details as they come across them: the packaging, the branding, the extras, the condition it arrived in.

The format carries consumer products across almost every category, from cosmetics and pet products to kids' toys and tech. It's also one of the most popular UGC ads formats.

It works because the product is on screen for almost the entire video. According to TikTok, ads that keep the product on screen drive a 65% increase in brand affinity and a 25% uplift in recall. An unboxing keeps it there without anyone having to direct it.

It also answers a question a product page cannot. Photography shows the product lit and styled. An unboxing shows what turns up at the door, on someone's kitchen counter, at the size and state it is in.

Plenty of unboxing footage comes out of PR packages, and influencers do film them. What a gifted send does not give you is a say in the result: no agreed shot list, no hook, no usage rights, and no date. Briefing the shoot up front is the other route, and it is the one you can build a campaign around.

Why are unboxing videos popular in marketing?

Unboxing works as a paid ad for the same reasons it works organically. Here are five.

It shows the features instead of listing them. The creator finds each one as they unpack, so the viewer learns what the product does and what comes in the box without being read a spec sheet.

It puts the product in front of people who weren't looking for it. Someone who has never heard of the brand watches a package get opened and comes away knowing what it is.

It moves undecided buyers. It answers the question a hesitant buyer has, which is what will actually turn up.

It holds attention. The reveal gives the viewer a reason to stay to the end, which buys the ad more time to make its case than a straight product video gets.

It builds trust. The viewer sees the product first-hand, in the condition it arrives in, from someone who is not the brand.

When to use unboxing video?

Three situations call for unboxing specifically.

You want hype around a launch. A product nobody has seen yet is the one case where the reveal is genuinely news, and the format is built around a reveal.

The product is expensive. The more someone is about to spend, the more they want to see what turns up in the box before they commit.

The packaging is part of what you sell. If you have paid for custom boxes, tissue, an insert card, a magnetic lid, then a product photo throws all of that away. An unboxing is the only format that puts it on camera.

What brands look for in an unboxing brief

A brief is what separates footage from an ad. Five things are worth specifying before anyone starts filming.

A genuine first opening. The creator sees the product for the first time on camera. A re-taped box can be acted, and some creators pull it off, but the reaction is the part viewers watch closest.

The product visible and lit. Clearly in frame, well lit, on screen for most of the video. Obvious enough that briefs leave it out, which is how you end up with the reveal shot in shadow.

Full usage rights. Paid social, product pages, email, and anywhere else you might run it later. Sorting rights before filming means nobody is going back to renegotiate afterwards, which is exactly when it gets expensive. If you would rather not handle that campaign by campaign, a UGC platform with unlimited revisions and usage rights by default keeps the process moving.

Two cuts. A 60-second full version and a 15-second highlight. The long one goes on product pages and runs as a YouTube video ads asset, the short one is the ad. Creators deliver both when the brief asks for both, so ask up front rather than re-cutting afterwards.

B-roll delivered separately. Product close-ups and detail shots as their own files, not buried inside a 60-second timeline.

An unboxing costs the same as any other UGC video, so price it off the standard UGC price ranges rather than assuming it is the cheap option. Working out how to hire UGC creators is the one-time part.

Unboxing has one requirement the other formats do not: the product has to physically arrive before filming can start. Brief creators in the market you are selling into rather than the one you are based in, so a US launch means American UGC creators even if your office is somewhere else. Build the shipping time into the schedule on top of production time.

The format needs something worth opening. A supplement jar with a printed label works. A t-shirt in a poly mailer does not, and neither does anything digital. For those, a demo or a testimonial ad angle will do more.

The unboxing video shot list

Seventeen shots cover a full unboxing. Ask for them in order, because the sequence is the story and the first three only exist while the box is still sealed.

Before opening

1. The sealed box, in the space where it arrived
2. Close-up of the packaging design and any branding on the outside
3. The creator reacting to the box before touching it

Opening

1. The seal breaking, in one continuous take
2. The first thing visible when the lid comes up
3. Each item coming out, one at a time

Product shots

1. Everything laid out on a clean surface
2. The hero product from three angles
3. A texture or material close-up
4. The label, logo or ingredient list, close enough to read
5. The product in hand, so the viewer gets the scale

After opening

1. The creator turning the hero product over, looking at it properly
2. First use: cream on skin, powder into water, device switched on
3. The reaction to that first use

B-roll

1. The packaging laid flat
2. The product where it would actually live, on a bathroom shelf or in a gym bag
3. Any extras, samples, cards or free gifts

Make sure the content is shot vertical at 9:16 with headroom top and bottom, because TikTok and Reels both put interface over those strips. Ask for two versions of each static shot, one held still for three seconds and one moving slowly across the product.

Ask for the b-roll as separate clips rather than trimmed out of the main take. An editor cutting a 15-second version needs product shots with nothing wandering into frame halfway through.

The unboxing hook

The first two seconds decide whether the viewer watches the rest. According to TikTok, 90% of what a viewer remembers about an ad comes from its first six seconds, and viewers scroll well before that.

Four hooks that work for unboxing

Open on the best shot. Whatever the most visually interesting second of the video is, that is frame one. Usually the reveal, sometimes the packaging, occasionally something unexpected in the box.

Say something with an edge. "They sent the entire range." "I have no idea what half of this is." "I have been on the waitlist for this since March." The line has to be one a real person would say out loud, which is most of what separates good hooks from written ones.

Start mid-opening. Hands already on the box, tape already half off. Skipping the setup buys back two seconds.

Show the end first. The finished result, then cut to the box. It gives the viewer a reason to stay for the middle.

How to film an unboxing video

A phone, a window and a clean table cover it. Nothing on the list below costs money, and light and sound will do more for a UGC video than a better camera.

What you need

• A smartphone
• Daylight from a window, or a ring light
• A clean surface with nothing in the background
• Something to prop the phone against so it stops moving

What you do not need

• A camera
• A studio
• Editing software
• A following

Lighting is the variable worth caring about. Face the window, put the box between you and it, and never film with the window behind you, or the whole take is a silhouette. Overhead ceiling lights make footage look grey.

Lock exposure and focus before you start rolling. Tap and hold on the box until the phone locks it, otherwise, the camera hunts for focus at the exact moment the lid comes up.

Sound carries a lot of an unboxing. Tape peeling, tissue paper, a rigid lid coming off a box, those are half the appeal of the format. Film in a room with soft furnishings and nothing humming in the background. A phone mic is fine.

Angles decide how much an editor can do with the footage afterwards. Overhead for flat lays, eye level for anything spoken to camera, close for detail. Three angles of the same twenty seconds give an editor three ways to cut it.

Tips for the best unboxing experience

Before anyone starts filming, have these in place:

• A good script the creator can work from, built from UGC script examples that have already worked.
• A hook written for the first two seconds, not the first ten.
• A detailed brief naming the shots, both cut lengths and the rights.
• Good lighting, which on most shoots means one window.
• Subtitles, because plenty of the feed is watched on mute.
• Packaging worth opening. No brief rescues a plain mailer.

Unboxing video examples

Five unboxings that ran as ads. Watch what happens in the first second of each one.

Turn any of these into a UGC script for your own product. There are more UGC examples sorted by niche if unboxing is not the format your product needs.

Disclaimer: Ads in the Inspiration Hub are sourced from the public Facebook Ads Library for inspiration and best practice showcase, and are not affiliated with Influee.

FAQ

What is an unboxing video?

An unboxing video is a recording of someone opening the packaging of a new product and revealing what is inside for the first time. It is one of the UGC ad formats, alongside testimonial, demo and tutorial.

How do you make an unboxing video?

An unboxing video is filmed against a shot list rather than improvised. Seventeen shots cover a full one, from the sealed box to the first use.

What makes a good unboxing video?

A good unboxing video holds attention through its first two seconds and keeps the product in frame for the rest.

What equipment do you need for an unboxing video?

An unboxing video needs a smartphone, daylight and a clean surface.

What should a brand ask for in an unboxing brief?

A brand should ask for a genuine first opening, the product visible and lit throughout, full usage rights, both cut lengths and the b-roll as separate files. Agreeing all of it before the box ships is what makes the footage usable.

How long should an unboxing video be?

An unboxing video should come in two lengths: about 60 seconds for the full version and about 15 for the ad. The short one carries the reveal, since that is the one running as paid creative.

Are unboxing videos still popular?

Unboxing is still one of the most-watched product formats, and the trend has held up for over a decade rather than fading. Brands keep briefing it because it answers what a shopper wants to know before buying, which does not go out of fashion.

What products work best for unboxing videos?

Products with packaging worth opening work best for unboxing videos: skincare, supplements, electronics, subscription boxes and accessories. Subscription boxes suit it especially well, since the contents surprise the creator too.

How do brands use unboxing videos in ads?

Brands use unboxing videos as paid social creative on Meta and TikTok. The same file can get a second life on product pages and in email.