How to run jaw-dropping commercial ads like Dr. Squatch

This is not a performance battle because Dr. Squatch needs your complete attention.

But before looking at the ads, let’s examine why they are so popular.

Squatch relies on natural ingredients like olive, coconut, or hemp oils, oats, sage, mint, and sea salt (among others, depending on the listed scent).

The Positioning

If you start a DTC company, then you need to be differentiated before you launch. Dr. Squatch has the positioning edge:

• All-natural ingredients

• Organic

• Handmade soap

Dr. Squatch soap is better-smelling and better on the skin than name-brand soaps.

Even their thumbnails are hitting home runs. Let’s look at them.

What can we learn from their thumbnails & headlines game?

So usually, I start with ads, but Dr. Squatch's ads are phenomenal with thumbnails & headlines.

Thumbnails act as a headline to open the curiosity loop. Thumbnails are scroll stoppers. Thumbnails are a way to identify a persona or persona’s problem.

Do you know how marketers say you need to go broad for Fb ads? Well, thumbnails are the targeting strategy for that advice.

Here are the thumbnail ideas you can steal from Dr. Squatch:

Headline idea # 1: Here’s why (your persona) gets (dream outcome) when he/she (does) THIS

Headline idea # 2: Yes! I got a (upcoming crucial event)tomorrow

Headline idea # 3: 3 (category product) myths (persona) still fall for. Also, look at how “emotionally” evoking this thumbnail is.

Headline idea # 4: Which (persona) are you?

This headline with the emotion and before/after is one level up to the before-after format.

Headline idea # 5: If (persona) does this, he/she definitely gets the (selfish desire & dream outcome) (time)

Headline idea # 6: This one is for the (persona) who cares about their (X). I could use this for my clients who are in education.

For example, this is one for the mommies who care about their kids' future.

Headline idea # 7: 4 reasons why I am detoxing my (pet name persona) from (bad product element)

The reason why this thumbnail is great is that it uses “sexual attraction,” and someone would say this. And most importantly, it uses pattern interrupt with a Tweet-style video (normally does not happen).

Unfortunately, there is no “itsmeChelseaVlog” and a tweet like this. I am not sure when it comes to authenticity or legitimacy. Will they lose points? You tell me below:

Let’s look at their best ads

To analyze the ads, we should always look for the old prospecting ads that are still active.

I’m going to analyze three to keep this issue short. I am picking ads from August to December 2022 only to show you the “proven” ads that are still working.

Note: For a better experience, I would suggest watching the ads first and then my takeaways.

Ad # 1 - Agitating the pain & inner desire

This ad is still running since late August 2022.

The thumbnail again is doing its scroll-stopper job beautifully with a native-looking video, highlighting “I can’t believe all I had to do was quit (enemy product)” and offering free shipping with a money-back guarantee.

Let’s look at the script:

Key takeaways:

• Call your persona with the hook

• Fight against the problem

• Use “so my friend told me…“

• Always hit the selfish desire

• While agitating the problem, you can use fear too. “It’s drying, you know what?” part

• Using the ASMR elements by squeezing the bottle or the balls

Did you find out anything else? Reply to this email.

Ad # 2 - UGC Mashup format (with 3 reasons why)

I have to be honest; my 3 reasons why ads have never worked, but I get why. It’s not as great as Dr. Squatch.

Key takeaways:

• 28 seconds WOW

• Mashup beautifully used

• 3 reasons should be no-brainers

• They used 3 different creators for ads (not 1). This kept me hooked.

• They make it dead simple for me to understand

• They are always fighting the enemy (gel).

Ad # 3 - Education-led Ad

A new trend that’s working at the moment is leading with education.

Dr. Squatch has started offering deodorants, so this is how they educate.

The copywriting tactics you can steal:

• Counter-intuitive and novel: I’m NEVER going to (enemy product) again

• Thumbnail: Using ASMR videos with something that looks like your body part (eye-catching)

• The thumbnail copy (Still putting these 3 things in your pits?) asks a question I should be answering because I might be doing wrong.

• “The secret to a weapon (persona’s) (category issue) - The secret weapon to men’s hygiene. As a marketer, it is so cringe, but I feel for a non-marketer audience, this still works.

Let’s see what we can learn from the script:

The education ad should be about something your audience is still doing the wrong way, and the ad is about teaching them the right (your) way. I learned that any marketer could you steal this format to educate their audience about why their product exists.

Some takeaways:

• Not only do they highlight the bad thing, but they make it super apparent with visuals and text

  • When it came to aluminum, the actor showed the aluminum foil. Another one with “pits T-shirt yellow mar” - They say, “we’ve all been there.” It’s so relatable.

• Always use guarantee in your ads; it reduces fear of taking the next steps

• Your 3 bad things have to hit the problems out of the park

I’m stealing this. What about you?

Here’s a goodie for you, check these videos if you are an ad nerd like me. This should be taught in Advertising MBA classes.

I am curious….

TL;DR:

• Your enemy is not another brand; it’s the category i.e. gels and other harmful deos

• Twist the knife with thumbnails. Thumbnails are the scroll stopper and the headlines. Here are new ideas you need to test

  • Here’s why (your persona) get (dream outcome) when he/she (does) THIS

  • Yes! I got a (crucial event)tomorrow

  • 3 (category product) myths (persona) still fall for

  • If (my persona) does this, he/she definitely gets the (selfish desire & dream outcome) (time)

  • This one is for the (persona) who cares about their (X)

  • 4 reasons why I am detoxing my (pet name persona) from (bad product element)

• While agitating the problem, you can use fear too. “It’s drying; you know what?” part

• Use “ so my friend told me,…” as a social proof

• Call your persona with the hook

• Use UGC mashup with 3 reasons why

• Make the viewer feel guilty ethically — “why didn’t I just do this before?”

• 3 reasons why reasons should be no-brainers

• Not only do they highlight the bad thing, but they make it super apparent visually and textually.

• Always use guarantee in your ads; it reduces fear of taking the next steps

• Use emotion to trigger action. Specially, when you fight the status quo.

Happy Growing with Paid Social,

Aazar Shad

What did you think of this newsletter? I appreciate your feedback!

Whenever you're ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. Join 30+ members of paid social mastermind group to learn from 100+ experiments per week by other marketers here.

2. Help you get more customers with paid marketing. Book a strategy call here.

3. Promote yourself to 4,877+ highly qualified paid marketers by sponsoring this newsletter. Simply reply to this email.