This is the working version of how I think about ad creative: the checklist every concept goes through before it reaches you. Steal whatever's useful.
01 / Research
A good ad doesn't invent a desire. It finds one that's already there and proves it's real. So research comes first, and it comes from your customers, not a brainstorm.
Where I look: your reviews and your competitors' reviews (Trustpilot, Amazon, the brand sites), your competitors' longest-running ads, Reddit and Mumsnet threads, and the organic content and comments on Instagram and Facebook. What people with the same problem are struggling with, what they want, and how aware they already are.
All of it goes into a foundational doc for your brand: avatars, pains, desires, objections, awareness level, and the claims your market is tired of hearing. Every concept is built from that doc.
What they've changed in their life to live with the problem.
“I had a fringe for two years.”What they used before you, and why it didn't work.
“Four new foods since spring.”The doubt that almost stopped them.
“I bought it mostly to prove it wouldn't work.”Their name for the problem, not the clinical one.
“Stinky sticky poos”, not “loose stools”.When they decided enough was enough.
“I made sure I was the one taking the photos.”02 / Awareness
Someone who's never named their problem needs a different first line from someone comparing you with a competitor. Get this wrong and a great script talks to nobody.
And if every competitor already makes the same claim? A bigger claim won't help. A new mechanism will: a new reason it works that nobody else is saying.
Why one ad isn't enough
Everyone with the problem looks like one audience. Inside it are groups who believe different things, doubt different things and stop for different ads. One ad can't talk to all of them. So each group gets its own concept, and each concept gets its own ad set.
Example: everyone whose dog has a sensitive tummy
Tap a group to see the ad that reaches it.
Solution aware
We've changed his food four times since spring.
Unaware
He's always had a dodgy tummy. That's just him.
Solution aware
Probiotic chews are just expensive treats.
Most aware
He won't touch anything that isn't a treat.
Product aware
I like the look of it. Is it worth three tubs?
Problem aware
Show me a dog like mine.
Problem aware
Show me how it actually works.
Most accounts keep talking to one or two of these groups. The free teardown maps yours: who your ads reach, who they miss, and the concepts that would reach them. Get yours →
03 / The nine beats
Nine beats, in order. Not every ad gives each one the same airtime, but every script I write is checked against all nine. The bridges between them matter as much as the beats: if you can hear the gear change, so can the viewer.
Stop the right person and sell the second line. Everyone else can scroll.
Name it plainly, then show what they've changed to live with it.
What they actually want, in their words. Small enough to believe.
Why this works when the last thing didn't. What it does, what that means, and why that matters.
Answer the doubt before it turns into a scroll.
Real reviews, word for word. Proof beats claims, every time.
The thing, the terms, and a reason to choose now.
Make saying yes feel safe. The real guarantee, in plain words.
One action, and who they become after taking it.
04 / Concepts
A concept is four decisions. Change one and you have a new concept. Change a colour or a headline and you have a variation. Both are useful, but only one teaches your account something new.
Who you're talking to. A new puppy owner and a retired dog walker need different ads for the same chews.
The argument you're making: a pain, a mechanism, an identity, a comparison.
What they get and on what terms: bundles, guarantees, trials, a reason to act now.
The container: voiceover, UGC, talking head, static, demo. A creative decision, not a production one.
05 / Format
Every script has one beat that does most of the selling. The format is whatever shows that beat best.
06 / Testing
Set tests up so they teach you something. Each concept launches as its own ad set in one ABO campaign, with 3–5 variations of that concept and one creative per ad. Then you learn which idea works, not just which video got lucky.
07 / Rules
The free teardown applies this method to your brand: your ads, your reviews and your competitors, sent to you within 2 working days.
