Videos that hit. Ads that scale and convert 💸 Trusted by: @HP, @MessYourself, @Thrilluwu & more. Editor + performance creative - DM me 🎬
Scaling brands 🌌
Joined April 2021
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Worked on a new intro animation recently for a client 🔥
What are you working on currently?
New day, another happy client 🌞
Want videos that will actually get you views? Send me a DM (you won't regret it lol)
Been messing around with some new Gemini Omniflash ad concepts.
What have you been working on recently?
creative strategists writing hooks for humans in 2026 is like showing up to a gunfight with a butter knife
you're also writing for machines now, and most people have no idea how to do so.
here's what I found actually matters rn:
→ AI agents hit your site before users do. if your brand isn't legible to the agent, the human never actually sees you
→ radical clarity > clever copy. machines reward structure. (so do people btw, make it easy to navigate)
→ spinning up 50 random static variants isn't a strategy. that's just putting out noise and hoping for the best. learn to build a system for your brand (personas → angles → landing pages → measurement) or get automated
the job isn't dying. it's just upgrading really fucking fast
hot take: your ad is flopping because you led with the product, instead of the actual problem
here's what's actually working rn for my clients:
- "unpopular opinion" hooks = scroll stopper every time
- one-take talking head videos with zero edits >>> overproduced stuff
- open on the problem in real life BEFORE you even show the thing you're selling
organic > salesy. always.
stop trying to sell me. make me (the potential buyer) feel seen/heard first
most ads I've seen recently fail in the first second, and honestly, the fix is pretty simple
negative hook beats positive every time btw. "biggest mistake" > "best tip", no contest
formats I see that are crushing it rn:
- just talk to the camera, one take (yapper style ads)
- phone call skit
- balloon string hook
- "surprising my husband/wife" format
also stop hard selling. organic > polished. let the product do the work and make it relatable for them
last thing here, watch your ads with sound OFF before sending. it catches so many errors, trust me
most of the creative strategists I see are drowning in data and are starving for actual insight
stop asking "what performed best last month"
and start asking yourself, "why did this win, and how do we do it again"
data tells you what happened. story tells you why it mattered
the best creative strategists I've seen aren't the ones with the biggest ad libraries. they build REAL, reliable frameworks, not just shit one-off ads.
what skill do u think creative strategists actually need rn? lmk - I'm learning more about the space daily
video ad hooks (i find) that are winning rn vs ads that aren't:
❌ hard sell, voiceover yelling value props
✅ truly organic, let the product speak
❌ generic (and boring) talking head
✅ "surprising my husband" gifting format
❌ silence/music bed
✅ ASMR sounds that make you stop scrolling
❌ boring intro
✅ hot take hook in the first second
the algorithm rewards authenticity. stop making ads that look like ads and make them actually watchable.
I find that editors these days are so focused on making things look good that they actually forget to make them feel good.
Beginner mistake: obsessing over shitty transitions and effects.
Pro move: obsessing over solid sound design, pacing, and the viewers' emotions.
The best edits don't show off. They really pull you in and don't let go at all.
i see this all the time now:
your brand doesn't have a creative problem. it has a research problem.
stop brainstorming, and actually start mining.
reddit threads. 2-star amazon reviews. post-purchase surveys. that's where your next winning hook lives, written by your customer, not your team.
the framework:
→ raw diet: find the exact words frustrated customers use when no one's watching
→ angle OS: map those words to awareness levels (unaware → problem-aware → solution-aware)
→ anchor & riff: give creators the proven hook, let them film it raw. parked car. messy kitchen. one take.
polish = ad blindness in 2026. ugly + right words win every time.
and when something hits, document actually WHY before it dies. that's your next brief right there.
"make more ads like this one" isn't a strategy. it's a prayer for success lol.
Been getting into Creative Strategy for DTC brands recently.
Anyone else relatively new in the space and looking to connect/learn from each other? DM me
One "hero" ecom video won't move the needle.
Brands that win on Meta/TikTok aren't the ones making better ads.
They're making more of them, faster, cheaper, with clear angles and testing multiple iterations.
Volume beats perfection. Testing beats taste.
The sooner brands accept that, the better their ROAS gets, and the faster creative performance will skyrocket.
Dan Barkes | Video Editor retweeted
Claude Fable (Mythos) + meta ad library + seedance 2.0 now finds a competitor's winning ad, reverse-engineers why it converts, and outputs a finished clone with a new face... before their media buyer finishes his coffee
here's the full pipeline:
- pull every active creative your competitor is running in meta ad library
- filter for the ones running 3+ weeks (those are the winners, they don't keep losers live)
- feed the transcript to claude and extract the persuasion DNA: hook type, emotional arc, unique mechanism
- generate 5 fresh scripts in different formats from that DNA
- generate first frames with gpt image 2
- animate with seedance 2.0 or Kling
the ad they spent weeks testing becomes your starting point
RT + reply 'AI' and i'll send you the playbook so you can build this too (must follow so i can DM)
Dan Barkes | Video Editor retweeted
claude fable 5 now watches every city for new pool permits. the law makes every one of those owners buy a fence. so it mails them their finished backyard before the pool is even filled.
this demo is real: the satellite still shows their old ring pool, the permit already replaces it with an in-ground build and claude caught it days after filing.
here's the system you can sell to contractors:
- monitors the city's pool permits in real time (free public data)
- pulls the satellite photo of every permitted address
- vision-checks the yard, rejects the bad leads
- renders that backyard 3 ways: fence, rebuilt yard, night swim
- prints the law on a postcard: "your pool can't pass inspection without a 48in barrier"
- mails it to the owner with a QR per trade
fence company, landscaper, lighting contractor, three retainers from one system and new permits drop every week.
reply "POOL" + RT and i'll send you a free guide so you can build this too (must be following so i can DM you)
I've watched hundreds of ecom ads recently through TikTok, Meta Ad Library, etc.
And I've noticed the ones that convert aren't the prettiest.
They're the ones that open with EXACTLY what the customer was already thinking.
Hook → hook → hook. Strategy always comes first. Edit second, even as an editor.
Recently tripled a brand's ROAS (big supplement brand, popping up everywhere rn, iykyk)
With ads like these, it's essentially a GTA cheat code for scaling these D2C brands, but most people are using it wrong.
Hmu if you're interested in making video ads that won't waste ad spend.
Worked on this super simple Instagram reel recently for a client 🔥
What recent project are you most proud of completing?
Been storyboarding new ecom ad concepts for brands I've been working with recently.
What have you been working on? 🔥
🤖 Made with AI
Been deep in the ecom trenches lately 👀
And I can't stop helping brands (like yours) convert using video ads 🔥
DM me if you're interested in receiving ads that actually scale your brand (the first ad cut is free)