The Christmas ad that sold the set showed it as the present itself

What we learned this week

From the accounts we run

1. 01

   Show the gift already given

   On a UK luxury laundry brand, the ad that showed the gift set boxed and handed over as the present itself beat target by about 70%. It answers the two questions every early Christmas shopper has: what do I buy, and do I have to wrap it. If you sell a set, show it in the moment it is given, not on a shelf.

2. 02

   Sell one piece before the set

   Same brand: people who had looked at the full set and stalled bought a single item when the ad made clear each one is sold on its own, at about 1.5 times target. When someone keeps visiting but never buys, the price of entry may be the problem, not the product. Give them a smaller first yes.

3. 03

   Show it working, don't just say it

   The same argument, that a cup or two per wash makes the tin last, ran two ways. As a split screen comparison filmed on camera it beat target. As a static headline that simply stated it, it spent and brought nothing back. A claim people have to take on trust is weak. A claim they can watch happen sells.

4. 04

   Your past buyers are not an easy win

   Ads aimed at past buyers and people who had engaged returned under a third of target on that account, while several cold audiences cleared it. Warm audiences are not automatically your cheapest sales. If a warm campaign is lagging, give it new reasons to buy again instead of more budget.

5. 05

   Let the doubter ask the question

   The audience who doubted the product would last was our strongest this week, at about three times target, on small spend so far. The ad that worked had a creator answer 'does it last?' with 'it's Monday and I can still smell it.' The doubt is the hook. The answer in plain words is the sale.

Worked this week: UK

The UK ads that reached the most people

Untamed

A listicle hook over a real cat

Untamed opens on a cat eating with '3 signs your fussy cat is actually asking for real food' on screen, then backs it with a number: 87% of fussy cat owners in a survey of 988 customers say their cat loves it. Name the problem, give a list, prove it. 1.2M reached in 7 days.

1.2M people reached in 7 days / live 11 days / 229 ads live on the account

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BioRoot Labs

A tiny drama on a building site

BioRoot Labs sells turmeric with a scene, not a product shot: a builder whose knees have gone, told he is off the scaffold on Monday. The copy then names the doubt, 'you've probably never felt it actually do anything', and answers it. 1.3M reached in 7 days.

1.3M people reached in 7 days / live 9 days / 740 ads live on the account

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Lily's Kitchen

Sell the sense, not the spec

Lily's Kitchen launches new fresh recipes with a happy dog beside three packs and one line: 'Noses at the ready.' The copy is about aroma and flavour, the thing the dog actually cares about. 1.5M reached in 7 days.

1.5M people reached in 7 days / live 7 days / 197 ads live on the account

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Humantra

Teach one fact, then show the product

Humantra's static leads with a plain fact: when you sweat you lose sodium, not just water. Only then does the product appear. A limited edition and a free bottle for the first 3,000 orders add the urgency. 1.2M reached in 7 days.

1.2M people reached in 7 days / live 8 days / 837 ads live on the account

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Worked this week: US

The US ads brands kept paying for

Zena_Makeup

Call out the reader, then the morning

Zena opens with 'Girl, STOP. Your makeup routine is literally stealing 30 minutes of your sleep every morning' over a creator using one palette. A relatable bad morning, then the fix in 60 seconds. It has run for 221 days and has 5,429 copies live, the most duplicated ad in our US list.

live 221 days / 955 ads live on the account

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Chariacter/8

Lead with the bill you avoid

An AC drain line adapter sold with 'Save hundreds on costly HVAC repairs' and a rough phone video of the gunk coming out. No studio, just proof on screen. 63 days running with 1,950 copies of the ad live.

live 63 days / 1,202 ads live on the account

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Resourcetheway/E

Hold the product up to show the size

A jumbo Christmas word search poster, held open by a smiling woman so you see the scale in one glance, with a family review as the copy. Seasonal, simple, and 65 days running with 1,361 copies live.

live 65 days / 343 ads live on the account

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Pinkdiyprint

A countdown sells a story a day

Pinkdiyprint sells a Día de Muertos countdown as '24 Days. 24 Tiny Stories.' The box sits in a candlelit scene full of marigolds. It sells the ritual of opening one a day, not the figures inside. 38 days running with 1,777 copies live.

live 38 days / 10,896 ads live on the account

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