The Weekly Sharpener #95 - Creative Cuts

Hey Fam 👋,

Welcome to the Creative Cuts Edition of the Weekly Sharpener where you'll get three of our favorite ads in the game 🔥.

We're going to discuss why they work or don't with the goal that you'll have some actionable takeaways on how to improve your creatives and grow your business. 🚀

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This week we have a co-pilot, Sarah Levinger (Creative Strategist), and she challenges us to dig deeper when making decisions on what to create for our protective customers at every stage of the journey 🤯. 

Check out the full episode of the show below if you want a deep dive with tactical insights on your creative funnel or you can check out the quick write-up below!

Either way, we hope you find this valuable! 

Also in this episode, we go through the landing pages that the ads lead to, and breakdown that experience, so we can figure how to convert more customers!  Be sure to check it out 👇

Saintly Wine 🍷

Hook-> there is no hook since this is essentially a long GIF. If I had to pick something it would be the beautifully constructed composition. But nothing to really grab my attention.

Trust-> No trust building is done here really, again it feels like they are leaning into aesthetics to be the thing that captures your attention and builds affinity. 

Feels like we could have used something like this to drive some trust 👇 - although this isn't always necessary, it would have given me a lot more faith in the product. 

Benefits->  Shop online, sip at home - which is technically the CTA as well, is the benefit they are pushing most here. They are also pushing that the wine is delivered right to your door as a benefit.

Where I take issue with this is - none of these are unique differentiators. You might be saying what can they lean into, if that's what they have, then that is what they should be leaning into. 

Oh, contraire - see the review above, they have a "stunning rose" that is "fresh & flavorful on the palette" - with that social proof, you can kill two birds with one stone.

My point there is - you have more unique benefits than you realize and the things like: free shipping, etc - are table stakes at this point (thanks, Amazon) not unique - it's like 10% off your first purchase - I'm almost more intrigued when they don't have it. 

CTA's-> Shop Online is what they are pushing, I do like sip at home as something unique but again, that's every wine you buy. 

What I would change: 

• More contrast in the colors so your eye is drawn to bottle, it's all very monochrome currently and as such you don't automatically see the bottle.

• Lean into social proof

• Focus on more tangible differentiators in your copy that are unique to them: taste, etc.

• Bonus: UGC focused ad of someone actually enjoying the opening up the box as it's delivered to the front door.

Note: all the components are there to make something great!

Nutrafol 💊

Hook-> Product on a plain background with "clinically effective" doesn't scream hook. It looks good, but for a product page.

This goes to my issue with this entire ad. It hits every pillar we go over in these breakdowns and yet, it lacks what all great ads have, momentum towards an outcome. 

Trust-> They show results, I love that they are brave enough to do this. I just wish they had shown the best results ever so it read well visually. Currently, it doesn't look like a massive upgrade. 

They give me a quote from a client as well. Wasn't the best one considering age demo for this product but it still works! 

Benefits->  Hair growth in 3-6 months. This smacks of having been slapped on the wrist for claiming better results early on. All I will say is they can be a little more aggressive than they are here. 

Example: More hair in 12 weeks with a *3-6 months is the normal growth rate - in small text below. 

CTA's-> Grow to your full potential - this isn't direct enough - and could be for a plant or a class or a job board. 

Remember, when you are creating anything, you want it make it feel singular to you and your offering, this is intensely plural. 

What I would change: 

• Make the hook a bald head with some copy: Is this you?

• Show pills pouring into a hand

• Show results, More hair in 12 weeks

• Quote or UGC clip about how it made the customer feel to get the benefits of Nutrafol

• Starting Growing Your Hair Back Today - on the CTA page.

Go-To Skin Care 🧴

Hook-> It's a bit of a tongue twister to read in 3 seconds: the dullness-defying duo your face deserves with products on a monochrome background. 

Someone times beautiful things don't stick out enough. I would urge people to think about what would stop them when scrolling, rather than what's perfect to look at on your computer screen. 

Trust-> They have some homepage trust badges calling out some of the special ingredients. Which is okay but they are (maybe purposely) hard to read and discern what I should be trusting. 

Benefits->  They mention multiple benefits for your skin: reduces dullness and increases glow. 

The issue being, none of these are emotional - how should the person feel is a function of what confidence does using this product give them as a result of increased glow. 

SELL THAT.

CTA's-> Nothing flashy here but a regular old SHOP NOW. 

Could go with: START GLOWING TODAY.

What I would change: 

• I would flip the colors on the opening image: WHITE BACKGROUND + PEACH LETTERING with product, it will stand out more in people's feeds.

• Slow down all the quick cuts or have text run through scenes so we have an easier time reading it.

• Have a unique CTA.

Want to see those ads in all of their glory, sound, and all? Check out the full ads on Ad Library here. 

That's it for this week's edition of The Weekly Sharpener - Creative Cuts. Let us know if there are brands you think we should be looking at. Until next time! 

All my best,

Chase

PS - ICYMI 🤖 - here is our most recent episode of ADD CREATIVE 👇