Interstitial ads

  • Interstitial ads are full-screen ads suitable for display at natural transition points in an app, such as between levels in a game.

  • You must always test your implementation with test ads provided by Google to avoid account suspension.

  • To load an interstitial ad, use the InterstitialAd.load() method and implement an InterstitialAdLoadCallback to handle load success or failure.

  • Set the FullScreenContentCallback to manage events related to the ad's display, such as when it is shown or dismissed.

  • Show the interstitial ad using the show() method, ideally during a pause in the app's flow.
Select platform: Android iOS Unity Flutter Android (Legacy)

Interstitial ads are full-screen ads that cover the interface of their host app. They're typically displayed at natural transition points in the flow of an app, such as between activities or during the pause between levels in a game. When an app shows an interstitial ad, the user has the choice to either tap on the ad and continue to its destination or close it and return to the app. Read one of our case studies.

This guide explains how to integrate interstitial ads into an Android app.

Prerequisites

Always test with test ads

When building and testing your apps, make sure you use test ads rather than live, production ads. Failure to do so can lead to suspension of your account.

The easiest way to load test ads is to use our dedicated test ad unit ID for Android interstitials:

ca-app-pub-3940256099942544/1033173712

It's been specially configured to return test ads for every request, and you're free to use it in your own apps while coding, testing, and debugging. Just make sure you replace it with your own ad unit ID before publishing your app.

For details on Google Mobile Ads SDK (Legacy) test ads, see Enable test ads.

Load an ad

To load an interstitial ad, call the InterstitialAd static load() method and pass in an InterstitialAdLoadCallback to receive the loaded ad or any possible errors. Notice that like other format load callbacks, InterstitialAdLoadCallback leverages LoadAdError to provide higher fidelity error details.

Java

InterstitialAd.load(
    this,
    AD_UNIT_ID,
    new AdRequest.Builder().build(),
    new InterstitialAdLoadCallback() {
      @Override
      public void onAdLoaded(@NonNull InterstitialAd interstitialAd) {
        Log.d(TAG, "Ad was loaded.");
        MyActivity.this.interstitialAd = interstitialAd;
      }

      @Override
      public void onAdFailedToLoad(@NonNull LoadAdError loadAdError) {
        Log.d(TAG, loadAdError.getMessage());
        interstitialAd = null;
      }
    });

Kotlin

InterstitialAd.load(
  this,
  AD_UNIT_ID,
  AdRequest.Builder().build(),
  object : InterstitialAdLoadCallback() {
    override fun onAdLoaded(ad: InterstitialAd) {
      Log.d(TAG, "Ad was loaded.")
      interstitialAd = ad
    }

    override fun onAdFailedToLoad(adError: LoadAdError) {
      Log.d(TAG, adError.message)
      interstitialAd = null
    }
  },
)

Set the FullScreenContentCallback

The FullScreenContentCallback handles events related to displaying your InterstitialAd. Before showing InterstitialAd, make sure to set the callback:

Java

interstitialAd.setFullScreenContentCallback(
    new FullScreenContentCallback() {
      @Override
      public void onAdDismissedFullScreenContent() {
        // Called when fullscreen content is dismissed.
        Log.d(TAG, "The ad was dismissed.");
        // Make sure to set your reference to null so you don't
        // show it a second time.
        MyActivity.this.interstitialAd = null;
      }

      @Override
      public void onAdFailedToShowFullScreenContent(AdError adError) {
        // Called when fullscreen content failed to show.
        Log.d(TAG, "The ad failed to show.");
        // Make sure to set your reference to null so you don't
        // show it a second time.
        MyActivity.this.interstitialAd = null;
      }

      @Override
      public void onAdShowedFullScreenContent() {
        // Called when fullscreen content is shown.
        Log.d(TAG, "The ad was shown.");
      }

      @Override
      public void onAdImpression() {
        // Called when an impression is recorded for an ad.
        Log.d(TAG, "The ad recorded an impression.");
      }

      @Override
      public void onAdClicked() {
        // Called when ad is clicked.
        Log.d(TAG, "The ad was clicked.");
      }
    });

Kotlin

interstitialAd?.fullScreenContentCallback =
  object : FullScreenContentCallback() {
    override fun onAdDismissedFullScreenContent() {
      // Called when fullscreen content is dismissed.
      Log.d(TAG, "Ad was dismissed.")
      // Don't forget to set the ad reference to null so you
      // don't show the ad a second time.
      interstitialAd = null
    }

    override fun onAdFailedToShowFullScreenContent(adError: AdError) {
      // Called when fullscreen content failed to show.
      Log.d(TAG, "Ad failed to show.")
      // Don't forget to set the ad reference to null so you
      // don't show the ad a second time.
      interstitialAd = null
    }

    override fun onAdShowedFullScreenContent() {
      // Called when fullscreen content is shown.
      Log.d(TAG, "Ad showed fullscreen content.")
    }

    override fun onAdImpression() {
      // Called when an impression is recorded for an ad.
      Log.d(TAG, "Ad recorded an impression.")
    }

    override fun onAdClicked() {
      // Called when ad is clicked.
      Log.d(TAG, "Ad was clicked.")
    }
  }

Show the ad

Interstitial ads should be displayed during natural pauses in the flow of an app. Between levels of a game is a good example, or after the user completes a task. To show an interstitial, use the show() method.

Java

if (interstitialAd != null) {
  interstitialAd.show(this);
} else {
  Log.d(TAG, "The interstitial ad is still loading.");
}

Kotlin

interstitialAd?.show(this)

Source code

Examples on GitHub

Success stories

Next steps