Ad Creative

Platform Specs

Platforms reject or truncate creative that exceeds these limits, so verify every piece of copy fits before delivering.

Google Ads (Responsive Search Ads)

RSA rules:

• Headlines must make sense independently and in any combination
• Pin headlines to positions only when necessary (reduces optimization)
• Include at least one keyword-focused headline
• Include at least one benefit-focused headline
• Include at least one CTA headline

Meta Ads (Facebook/Instagram)

LinkedIn Ads

TikTok Ads

Twitter/X Ads

For detailed specs and format variations, see references/platform-specs.md.

Generating Ad Visuals

For image and video ad creative, use generative AI tools and code-based video rendering. See references/generative-tools.md for the complete guide covering:

• Image generation — Nano Banana Pro (Gemini), Flux, Ideogram for static ad images
• Video generation — Veo, Kling, Runway, Sora, Seedance, Higgsfield for video ads
• Voice & audio — ElevenLabs, OpenAI TTS, Cartesia for voiceovers, cloning, multilingual
• Code-based video — Remotion for templated, data-driven video at scale
• Platform image specs — Correct dimensions for every ad placement
• Cost comparison — Pricing for 100+ ad variations across tools

Recommended workflow for scaled production:

1. Generate hero creative with AI tools (exploratory, high-quality)
2. Build Remotion templates based on winning patterns
3. Batch produce variations with Remotion using data feeds
4. Iterate — AI for new angles, Remotion for scale

Generating Ad Copy

Step 1: Define Your Angles

Before writing individual headlines, establish 3-5 distinct angles — different reasons someone would click. Each angle should tap into a different motivation.

Common angle categories:

Step 2: Generate Variations per Angle

For each angle, generate multiple variations. Vary:

• Word choice — synonyms, active vs. passive
• Specificity — numbers vs. general claims
• Tone — direct vs. question vs. command
• Structure — short punch vs. full benefit statement

Step 3: Validate Against Specs

Before delivering, check every piece of creative against the platform's character limits. Flag anything that's over and provide a trimmed alternative.

Step 4: Organize for Upload

Present creative in a structured format that maps to the ad platform's upload requirements.

Iterating from Performance Data

When the user provides performance data, follow this process:

Step 1: Analyze Winners

Look at the top-performing creative (by CTR, conversion rate, or ROAS — ask which metric matters most) and identify:

• Winning themes — What topics or pain points appear in top performers?
• Winning structures — Questions? Statements? Commands? Numbers?
• Winning word patterns — Specific words or phrases that recur?
• Character utilization — Are top performers shorter or longer?

Step 2: Analyze Losers

Look at the worst performers and identify:

• Themes that fall flat — What angles aren't resonating?
• Common patterns in low performers — Too generic? Too long? Wrong tone?

Step 3: Generate New Variations

Create new creative that:

• Doubles down on winning themes with fresh phrasing
• Extends winning angles into new variations
• Tests 1-2 new angles not yet explored
• Avoids patterns found in underperformers

Step 4: Document the Iteration

Track what was learned and what's being tested:

## Iteration Log
- Round: [number]
- Date: [date]
- Top performers: [list with metrics]
- Winning patterns: [summary]
- New variations: [count] headlines, [count] descriptions
- New angles being tested: [list]
- Angles retired: [list]

Writing Quality Standards

Headlines That Click

Strong headlines:

• Specific ("Cut reporting time 75%") over vague ("Save time")
• Benefits ("Ship code faster") over features ("CI/CD pipeline")
• Active voice ("Automate your reports") over passive ("Reports are automated")
• Include numbers when possible ("3x faster," "in 5 minutes," "10,000+ teams")

Avoid:

• Jargon the audience won't recognize
• Claims without specificity ("Best," "Leading," "Top")
• All caps or excessive punctuation
• Clickbait that the landing page can't deliver on

Descriptions That Convert

Descriptions should complement headlines, not repeat them. Use descriptions to:

• Add proof points (numbers, testimonials, awards)
• Handle objections ("No credit card required," "Free forever for small teams")
• Reinforce CTAs ("Start your free trial today")
• Add urgency when genuine ("Limited to first 500 signups")

Output Formats

Standard Output

Organize by angle, with character counts:

## Angle: [Pain Point — Manual Reporting]

### Headlines (30 char max)
1. "Stop Building Reports by Hand" (29)
2. "Automate Your Weekly Reports" (28)
3. "Reports Done in 5 Min, Not 5 Hr" (31) <- OVER LIMIT, trimmed below
   -> "Reports in 5 Min, Not 5 Hrs" (27)

### Descriptions (90 char max)
1. "Marketing teams save 10+ hours/week with automated reporting. Start free." (73)
2. "Connect your data sources once. Get automated reports forever. No code required." (80)

Bulk CSV Output

When generating at scale (10+ variations), offer CSV format for direct upload:

headline_1,headline_2,headline_3,description_1,description_2,platform
"Stop Manual Reporting","Automate in 5 Minutes","Join 10K+ Teams","Save 10+ hrs/week on reports. Start free.","Connect data sources once. Reports forever.","google_ads"

Iteration Report

When iterating, include a summary:

## Performance Summary
- Analyzed: [X] headlines, [Y] descriptions
- Top performer: "[headline]" — [metric]: [value]
- Worst performer: "[headline]" — [metric]: [value]
- Pattern: [observation]

## New Creative
[organized variations]

## Recommendations
- [What to pause, what to scale, what to test next]

Batch Generation Workflow

For large-scale creative production (Anthropic's growth team generates 100+ variations per cycle):

1. Break into sub-tasks

• Headline generation — Focused on click-through
• Description generation — Focused on conversion
• Primary text generation — Focused on engagement (Meta/LinkedIn)

2. Generate in waves

• Wave 1: Core angles (3-5 angles, 5 variations each)
• Wave 2: Extended variations on top 2 angles
• Wave 3: Wild card angles (contrarian, emotional, specific)

3. Quality filter

• Remove anything over character limit
• Remove duplicates or near-duplicates
• Flag anything that might violate platform policies
• Ensure headline/description combinations make sense together

Common Mistakes

• Writing headlines that only work together — RSA headlines get combined randomly
• Ignoring character limits — Platforms truncate without warning
• All variations sound the same — Vary angles, not just word choice
• No CTA headlines — RSAs need action-oriented headlines to drive clicks; include at least 2-3
• Generic descriptions — "Learn more about our solution" wastes the slot
• Iterating without data — Gut feelings are less reliable than metrics
• Testing too many things at once — Change one variable per test cycle
• Retiring creative too early — Allow 1,000+ impressions before judging

Tool Integrations

For pulling performance data and managing campaigns, see the tools registry.

Workflow: Pull Data, Analyze, Generate

# 1. Pull recent ad performance
node tools/clis/google-ads.js reports get --type ad_performance --date-range last_30_days

# 2. Analyze output (identify top/bottom performers)
# 3. Feed winning patterns into this skill
# 4. Generate new variations
# 5. Upload to platform

Related Skills

• paid-ads: For campaign strategy, targeting, budgets, and optimization
• copywriting: For landing page copy (where ad traffic lands)
• ab-test-setup: For structuring creative tests with statistical rigor
• marketing-psychology: For psychological principles behind high-performing creative
• copy-editing: For polishing ad copy before launch