What's up, Marketers! This is Aazar.
This newsletter is all about giving you ad ideas to find winning ad ideas and help you scale.
This newsletter includes: Analysis of top internet ads (this issue), insights from other performance marketers, and my learnings.
You already know the first three seconds decide everything.
But here's where most people get stuck. Writing a good opening line is easy. You can sit down and bang out forty hooks in an afternoon.
Text overlays are easy too. Big bold words, pick a color, done.
The visual is the hard part.
What is actually happening on screen in second one, before anyone has said a word. Most brands never solve it. They point a camera at a person holding the product and hope the script saves them.
Pureskin solved it. And they didn't solve it once, they built a system for it.
I went through their winning ads and pulled out eight repeatable pattern interrupt frameworks. In all honesty, I was looking for a brand that has these examples so I can steal for my clients.
Lucky for us, now we have it and you can rebuild these for any product, in any niche.
Here they are.
Someone breaks a rule you're never allowed to break in public.
The sneeze
One sneezes directly on the other. Text overlay: "No way this just happened."
The fake poop prank
Text overlay says “Fake poop on strangers prank.” Man visible under a bathroom stall door, then chocolate flying. The next frame is a guy on a toilet holding a towel.
The toilet dunk
One guy filming another dunking his head in a toilet.
Why it works
Your brain monitors social rules automatically. When one gets broken in front of you, looking is not a choice.
Disgust is faster than curiosity. It hits before the viewer has decided anything.
How to steal it
Film someone doing the one thing your audience would never do in public.
Do not force a product link. The visual only has to buy you two seconds.
Let the voice start mid-reaction, not after the scene resolves.
Framework 2: The Bystander Tape
Shot like someone caught it by accident.
The street fight
Two guys in the street, one grabbing the other by the shirt, fist up. Overlay: "There's no way this is real life."
The bag snatch
A woman walks out of a store. A thief grabs her bag and runs.
Why it works
Polished footage tells the viewer it is an ad. Accidental footage tells them it is real.
Witnesses stay. Audiences leave.
How to steal it
No lighting, no tripod, no clean framing. Wide and shaky.
Let the action happen at the edge of the frame, like the camera missed it.
Use an overlay that doubts the footage instead of explaining it.
Framework 3: The Public Stunt
Someone is doing something stupid and you are watching them do it.
The car and chair
Guy sitting on a chair roped to a moving car. Overlay: "What is bro doing?"
And then it replays from another angle.
I think they stole this idea from an organic content creator:
it works
This runs on judgment, not fear.
The replay from a second angle resets attention right when it would have dropped.
How to steal it
Put someone in your niche doing the dumbest possible version of the problem.
Label it with the exact text your viewer would type in the comments.
Thanks to our partners who support this newsletter.
Are you tired of manually pulling competitor ads and hoping Claude can figure out what's working?
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Here's what actually works:
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Framework 4: The Flinch
Something almost goes wrong.
The hammer
A guy hammering a nail into a truck. First swing lands clean. Second swing, the hand holding the nail shifts, and the hammer nearly takes his face off.
Why it works
Nothing bad actually happens, but the body reacts half a second before the brain catches up.
That half second is the hook. The viewer is already in before they chose to be.
How to steal it
Near-drop, near-fall, near-collision. The miss is the point.
Do not let it connect. A real hit gets a worse reaction and usually kills the scroll differently.
Start talking while the danger is still in frame.
Framework 5: Chase The Object
Someone is chasing something, and you need to know whether they get it.
The flying letter
Guy sprinting through a park after a piece of paper. Catches it on the street in the next frame.
Why it works
It is an open loop with a physical answer arriving in about two seconds.
The object turns into the story, so the hook and the message are the same thing.
How to steal it
Pick the object that carries your claim, not a random prop.
Chase it and catch it.
Framework 6: Borrowed Heat
Open on a clip that already went viral.
Mel Robbins Viral Clip
Btw, it is illegal to use a clip like this (Mel Robbins)
The ad opens on her saying "stop spending your money on stupid shit."
Why it works
A familiar face buys instant attention with zero ad smell.
The viewer thinks they are watching content, and by the time they know better they are ten seconds deep.
How to steal it
Find the clip your audience has already seen five times.
Use the line that sets up your argument, then cut in and take over.
Framework 7: The Reveal
Something is hidden, and someone is pulling it out.
The magic box
Box draped in red fabric. A knife slices through it. A hand comes out holding a towel. Overlay: "Bro, why is he pulling that out?"
Why it works
No shock and no prank. Just a curiosity gap with a clock on it.
The viewer stays because they want to see the thing, which is the cheapest attention you can buy.
How to steal it
Hide your product and make the reveal slow.
Let the pull take up the entire first second.
Framework 8: The Literal Metaphor
Act out the claim instead of saying it.
The punch
Wide shot, two guys talking. One is holding skincare products. The other is wearing a boxing glove and punches him in the face.
Why it works
The claim and the visual land at the same moment, so nobody has to be convinced.
Seeing it happen to a person beats hearing it described.
How to steal it
Take your biggest claim and ask what it would look like if it happened to someone physically.
Film that, then say the claim over it.
Happy Growing with Paid Social,
Aazar Shad
Since this newsletter is free, I do it to follow my curiosity. But I’d love it if you could leave some feedback so I know if I am helping you or not.
One way I can help you whenever you are ready:
If you’re looking to create winning ads for your brand or app, book a call here. I’m open to more clients now. We’ll make some viral ads like above if you like them. We’ve been crushing ads for multiple health, app, and DTC clients.
