The video storytelling YOU need to study to make winning ads

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What's up, Marketers! This is Aazar.

This newsletter helps you enhance your paid growth marketing skills by analyzing top brands' strategies, tactics, positioning, and value propositions. It includes my insights, lessons from other performance marketers, and analysis of the best online ads.

And welcome to the 150+ new subscribers who joined us since last week’s issue. Do check out these three blogs to get value from this newsletter immediately:

• The Ultimate Ultimate Guide to Creative Testing

• 8 counterintuitive tactics that improved my ROAS

• How to use psychology to make winning ads

Life update: I bought a house and moved in. So I took two weeks off to settle down, and that’s why you didn’t hear from me 🙂 

BEST LINKS OF THE WEEK

My favorite finds

• How any creative strategist can make a winning ad in 24 hours

• New Ad formats to copy

• This is one of the most creative founder ads I’ve seen.

Ad # 1 – The Barbie Hook

This ad has been running for 250 days, so something is hitting home with this video.

What immediately stands out:

• The Ken & Barbie hook with the problem: Tired of running on a treadmill? Want to lose belly fat?

• The script is using two different frameworks:

  • AIDA and Celebrity-Question/Stats

• The visuals are leaning into the first 18 seconds with a Barbie vs Ken skit

• The entire video is challenging mainstream advice and trying to give a shortcut by not cutting diet (deep desire) 

But there’s more to it than that. Let’s study this script in-depth.

The Script

(Focus on the bold stuff)

The video visuals

• Other than the hook, the use of podcast style with someone else who also tried the same program and showing before and after

• The use of side-by-side screen vertical and horizontal makes it interesting to watch

• The use of THIS guy, but instead of saying he is wrong, he says that he is right

• The showing of delicious food that we all want to eat while showing his AMAZING body

• Visuals aiding the words

• The use of whiteboard

• The use of before and after with the trainer

• Workout eye-popping videos

• Other than podcast time, show the amazing body as b-rolls.

• The use of the familiarity principle by showing tweets

What we can learn from this:

• If you want to retain viewers for longer then use:

  • Signpost – Watch this… Listen up… If you…

  • Repetition – Say the same thing twice or three times

  • Counterintuitive – Challenge the common belief

  • Use multiple characters to complete your story

  • Use visuals to tell your story

  • Support your story with multiple visuals

  • Use authority to make the belief strong 

  • Leverage the podcast-style format

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Now other videos follow the same template and style but differently, so I wanted to bring this to your attention too.

Ad # 2 – Same Same, Different Angle & Concept

We aren’t gonna do the script review this time.

What immediately stands out:

• Visual hook: The relatable mirror hook and food

• Verbal Hook: I didn’t know about hormones until I saw this

• The woman in the video seems like an expert talking on a podcast

• The body focuses on problems: brain fog, irritability and low sex drive

• It’s clear from the video they are agitating the pain and squishing it further by telling the viewer that they don’t know about it

• They keep adding multiple hooks: If you are a woman, let’s talk about hormones. If you are like most people etc., and if you’re looking to get shredded… aka signposting

What we can learn from this:

• Pick a topic and squish it by agitating pain

• Keep adding multiple hooks and signposting

• Deeply resonate with an audience: Problems of 40+ women

Ad # 3 – MOFU ad, I saw you

What immediately stands out:

• Really retargeting the user with those who have watched a certain % of the video

• Reiterate with social proof + discount (on this post)

What you can learn:

• Don’t waste time, call out the viewer

• Offer value and discount

Let them restart their journey.

TL;DR

Here’s a mnemonic to remember this entire blog post: MAKE

• M: Make it visual, credible, and challenge common beliefs

• A: Add multiple hooks, repetitions, and signposts

• K: Know your audience deeply and call them (your audience) out

• E: End with deep desire and offer something FREE

I have other ads from this brand that I didn’t analyze here, so if you’re curious, check them out here for the entire swipe file. 

That’s all from this week. 

Thanks to our partners who support this newsletter.

Happy Growing with Paid Social,

Aazar Shad

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