Actionable Lessons From Top 0.7% Ads
Welcome back to Funnel Vision, the weekly newsletter that puts performance creative & growth marketing in focus. Brought to you by the crew at Ready Set.
It’s the second week of Q4. The march to the holiday season is well and truly underway.
In this edition, we're sharing lessons and key insights from the best concepts we shipped last month in an effort to inspire your next creative smash hit.
Ready? Let’s get the vision.
Reading time: 6 minutes
Of the 424 ads we shipped last month these three concepts performed the best. Let's discuss.
The Pareto Principle states that 80% of the results come from 20% of the causes. It's one of those weird laws of nature that applies to seemingly everything, everywhere.
Digital advertising is not immune from its effects. A small number of ads often drive a disproportionate amount of performance.
We ran hundreds of creative concepts through the gauntlet in September. Three emerged victorious.
These concepts worked for our clients and they can work for your brand, too.
From fintech to food delivery to hair loss, we're breaking down what makes these ads tick. No fluff, just hard-hitting analysis and actionable takeaways you can use to supercharge your next campaign.
The Feel-Good Fintech Ad
This ad is from Self Financial, Inc. , a fintech company focused on helping people build credit.
?? 22 seconds
?? YouTube
Click the ad to watch. Meet you back here for the analysis.
We follow our yellow-shirted friend as he goes through his day unperturbed by a series of unfortunate events (stepping in dog ?? at the park, setting off the fire alarm while cooking). Soon we discover the source of his joyful nonchalance. He’s celebrating his credit score improving, and he’s using Self to do it.
Winning elements: Why this ad works
?? The humor in this ad is bizarre and visceral. It grabs your attention. Oh yuck, that dude just stepped in poop. Aaaand he’s totally okay with it. What’s going on here? The sequence of odd events (and his even odder reaction to them) tugs on our curiosity and makes us need to know more.
?? It leverages the Big Mario Effect. The product isn’t the hero of the story, your customer is. Your product is the mushroom power-up that enables your customer to do awesome things. In this case, the Self Financial app is helping our hero improve his credit score, and he’s so stoked about it that nothing phases him.
??It effectively (but not forcefully) showcases the product. Showcasing an app is hard. This ad does it successfully by not only demonstrating the app’s slick easy-to-use UI, but also by showing how using the app makes you feel. This guy is glued to his phone. Whatever is happening on it is clearly more interesting than the disgust of stepping in poop, the frustration of setting off the fire alarm, or the embarrassment of awkwardly dancing in public.
??What can we learn from this ad?
Embrace weird and unexpected moments. Bizarre and humorous content captures attention. It’s especially effective in Fintech, but it can be applied to other brands and industry verticals, too.
Emotion over function. Focus on how your product makes people feel, not just what it does. Brainstorm the emotions your product evokes and ways to visually represent these feelings.
The transformation is the story. Beginning, middle, end. It’s the oldest storytelling framework in the book. (Pun intended.) Highlight a dramatic, yet relatable, before & after change your product enables.
The Awesomely Interesting and Delicious Ad (AIDA)
Next up is an ad from DoorDash, the largest food delivery platform in the US.
?? 12 seconds
?? Meta
This ad takes us on a mouth-watering journey through the wide variety of cuisines available on DoorDash—as many as we could fit into a twelve second slot, anyway.
Winning elements: Why this ad works
??? The food visuals are irresistibly appetizing. Close-ups of cheesy, stretchy, and steaming dishes trigger immediate cravings. The focus on texture and movement (cheese pulls, sauce pours) creates a visceral reaction that makes viewers want to order right away. If only you could target hungry people on Meta…
?? It’s an iteration on a top-performer. We mashed up a bunch of winning elements from various winning ads into a “superad”. Doesn’t always guarantee a high-performer, but this time the ad took off.
?? The offer drives it home. If the delicious food visuals, the convenience of ordering (“it took me two minutes to order”), and relatable scenarios (like being too tired to cook) captured attention and created interest and desire, then the “no delivery fee” offer drove the action.
??It feels native to the platform. This ad is running on Meta, so it appeared in the Reels feed on both Instagram and Facebook. The use of text overlays and quick cuts align with the visual style of this platform. Plus, short ads perform better here, and this one is only 12 seconds long.
??What can we learn from this ad?
Tempt with visuals. Convince with benefits. Close with an offer. The classic copywriting frameworks are classics for a reason: they work. This ad is a textbook example of the AIDA copywriting framework in action.
Optimize for the platform. This is critical to success and bears repeating. An ad that works on Meta won’t always directly translate to TikTok. Identify which elements work best on various platforms and make creatives that include them.
Relatable scenarios drive connection. By showing everyday situations where DoorDash fits in, the ad helps viewers imagine themselves using the service to order their next meal.
Don’t Copy This Ad
Finally we have an ad from Hims, a men’s healthcare brand, showcasing one of their hair loss treatment products.
?? 29 seconds
?? TikTok
You shouldn’t use this ad as inspiration when thinking of your next creative hit. See what I did there? By telling you not to do something, of course you’re going to do it. That’s reverse psychology for you, and this ad uses it perfectly as a persuasion mechanism.
Winning elements: Why this ad works
?? The “Don’t try Hims” hook zigs when others zag. The use of reverse psychology, the first of many instances in this ad, immediately piques curiosity and encourages viewers to keep watching.
??? The conversational, almost sarcastic tone feels authentic and relatable. It mirrors the way people often talk about their insecurities, making the ad feel more like friendly advice than a sales pitch.
???Clear communication demystifies scientific jargon. If you asked someone what the heck finasteride and minoxidil are before watching this ad, chances are you’d get blank stares. After watching we know that these are the scientifically-backed “bad boys” that’ll help regrow your hair.
??♂? Calling out problems with the alternatives, traditional hair loss treatments that are messy and drippy, positions Hims convenient chew as the superior product.
??What can we learn from this ad?
Reverse psychology can be an effective tool when used cleverly. It can make your ad stand out in a crowded feed and overcome viewer skepticism.
Use attractive talent. Select creators and actors who embody the outcome of using your product. In this case, well-groomed dudes with thick heads of hair.
Tone is everything. In this ad, the conversational and humorous tone makes the sensitive topic of hair loss more approachable and less intimidating.
Want to see your brand on this list next month?
At Ready Set, creating & shipping winning concepts is what we do.
Want us to do it for you, too?
Drop us a line and let’s chat about how we can help your brand break through plateaus and hit a new level of paid media performance.
CLICKABLE LINKS ???
?? OpenAI raises a staggering $6.6B. It’s the largest VC round in history, putting their valuation at $157B.
??? Looking to up your social game? Here are all the upcoming conferences to help you keep your social skills sharp in 2025.
?? TikTok introduces search ads campaigns, allowing advertisers to show ads based on keywords. Google reportedly unfazed.
?? Hibernating through Q5? You could be missing out…
While many brands cruise through the Q5 "dead zone" on autopilot, savvy ecommerce marketers cash in on a golden window of opportunity ??
And that’s exactly what our next Screenshare Session is all about…
Join a powerhouse panel of ecom experts from Ready Set, ZeroBounce, and AB Tasty for How to Win Q5: Maintaining Momentum After the Holiday Spike.
When: Monday, October 21 @ 12PM CST
How long: 1-hour
What you’ll learn:
Hit the ground running in 2025 with insider tips on turning the invisible quarter into your most profitable yet.
Limited spots! Grab yours now ??
That’s all for this week.
As always, thanks for reading. Appreciate you ??
Psst... wanna earn $1k?
Know someone looking for efficiency, flexibility, and scale with performance creative and media buying? Refer brands in your network and earn $1,000.