TikTok builds itself into an ads juggernaut

Last month, Tiffany & Co shared a sleek black-and-white video featuring pop superstar Beyoncé dripping in gems and surrounded by nightclub revelers. The minute-long jewellery ad was posted on Instagram, where it drew 1.6 million views.

A week later, Tiffany posted a different video on TikTok, the viral short-video app. That ad showed social media personality Kate Bartlett talking directly to viewers from a bathroom and then trying on small trinkets at a Tiffany store. It has been watched more than 5.2 million times.

TikTok was once best known for viral dance videos and pop songs. But in recent years, the app — which is owned by China’s ByteDance — has also built itself into a digital advertising juggernaut,