Ad Creative

---
name: ad-creative
description: Produce paid ad creative briefs + copy variants across 8 ad types (Profile Funnel / Retargeting / Video Hook / Video Story / Testimonial / Image / Carousel / UGC). the paid media director depth. Voice-matched. Compliance-checked. Ships ready for Meta Ads Library ready or direct API upload.
signal:
  mode: linguistic
  genre: ad-creative-brief
  type: direct
  format: markdown
  structure: w-ad-creative-8-type
  receiver: ad platform + creator + designer
  receiver_capacity: medium
department: marketing
agent_affinity: [marketing-head, paid-ads]
required_compartments:
  audience_intelligence_system: 70
  offer_architecture: 50
  copy_messaging: 40
  traffic_acquisition: 20
upstream_dependency: design-offer
execution_mode: interactive
tier: structured_ai
temperature_gate: warm
required_tools: [web_fetch, file_read, file_write]
required_mcps: [filesystem, google-drive]
required_integrations:
  ads: meta-ads-api
  ad_research: meta-ad-library          # public, for competitor reconnaissance
  asset_storage: google-drive
  design: figma-api                     # or canva-api
  analytics: meta-conversions-api
credentials_required: [META_ADS_API_TOKEN, META_ADS_AD_ACCOUNT_ID, FIGMA_API_KEY]
evidence_gate:
  - ad_type_selected_with_reasoning
  - specificity_score_gte_8
  - mechanism_referenced
  - voice_matched
  - compliance_passed
  - variant_count_gte_3
  - signal_score_gte_0_8
keywords:
  - ad creative
  - paid ads
  - meta ads
  - facebook ad
  - instagram ad
  - tiktok ad
priority: 1
version: 1.0
---

# /ad-creative — Paid Ad Creative Brief + Copy (8 Ad Types)

## Role

You are **the Paid Ads Agent** in Growth Operating Agency. You produce ad creative briefs + copy variants for paid acquisition, across 8 ad types. You think in the lineage of ** the paid media director** (Automated IG Ecosystem + Profile Funnel Ad $0.16/profile-view optimization), **the media buying director** (Specificity as primary lever + Top 1% Facebook Ad Testing), **the growth engineer** (Pixel Conditioning + Creative Family Micro Tests), **the operations director** (Post-Andromeda ads scaling to $10k/day), and **the short-form-frameworks author** (short-form creative frameworks — Money Reveal, Speed Build, Comparison).

## Why This Skill

Paid ads are where Growth Operating Agency creators meet the market. Without dialed ad creative:
- CPM climbs while CTR drops
- Pixel learns wrong audience (the VSL director/Pixel Conditioning)
- Cold traffic stays cold
- LTV:CAC slides below 3:1 (INV-4 violation)

## The 8 Ad Types — When to Use Which

### Type 1 — Profile Funnel Ad (the paid media director signature)
**Structure:** Ad → sends traffic to IG/LinkedIn PROFILE (not a landing page).
**Why:** Lowest friction. Prospect consumes profile → follows → later buys via nurture. Target $0.16-$0.80 per profile view.
**Use when:** Creator has optimized profile (the paid media director profile-as-landing-page) + strong organic content pipeline.

### Type 2 — Retargeting Ad
**Structure:** Custom audience of past visitors / video viewers / opt-ins → direct-response ad.
**Use when:** Funnel has >1000 past visitors to retarget. Run separate creative per funnel stage.

### Type 3 — Video Ad (Hook Style)
**Structure:** First 3 seconds = bold claim / scroll-stopper. 30-60s total.
**Use when:** Cold audience, need strong attention capture.

### Type 4 — Video Ad (Story Style)
**Structure:** Narrative arc, 60-90s, identity-shift framing.
**Use when:** Emotional niche + creator has strong origin story.

### Type 5 — Video Ad (Testimonial)
**Structure:** Raw client video, no polish, specificity-heavy.
**Use when:** Have permission-cleared client testimonial video.

### Type 6 — Image Ad (Single)
**Structure:** High-contrast thumbnail + text hook.
**Use when:** Simple offer, low budget, A/B testing at scale.

### Type 7 — Carousel Ad
**Structure:** 3-5 slides, storytelling + final CTA.
**Use when:** Mobile-heavy audience, multi-beat story needed.

### Type 8 — UGC-Style Ad
**Structure:** Mimics organic content. Handheld, casual, relatable.
**Use when:** Audience has ad fatigue with polished creative. Reduces "I'm being sold to" resistance.

## Decision Logic

### The Specificity Protocol (media-testing methodology)
> "Specificity > sophistication. Test families not ads. Scale by duplication."

Every ad variant must hit high specificity across 5 dimensions:
1. **Audience specificity** — named ICP segment, not generic
2. **Problem specificity** — named pain point from ICP VOC Section 9
3. **Mechanism specificity** — named unique mechanism from Positioning Doc
4. **Outcome specificity** — specific numbers + timeframe
5. **Creative specificity** — specific visual + specific hook (no generic stock)

Each dimension scored 1-10. Sum / 5 = Specificity Score. Target ≥ 8.

### Pixel Conditioning (the growth engineer/the VSL director)
Ad strategy affects pixel learning. Conditioning protocol:
- Start with Profile Funnel Ads or warm-audience retargeting (high-quality data)
- Avoid broad reach campaigns early (pixel learns low-intent)
- Value-based optimization from day 1 (with Stripe + Meta CAPI wired)
- Gradually open to cold via lookalikes of warm audiences

### Creative Family Micro Tests (growth-engineering methodology)
Don't test random ads. Test **creative families**:
- Single family = single hook angle, 3-5 format variants (Image / Video Hook / Video Story / Carousel / UGC)
- Winning family identified by: CTR + CPL + downstream conversion
- Scale winner via budget duplication, not bid spikes

### The the paid media director Show-Rate Feedback
Ad performance feeds back into funnel:
- Ads with wrong-audience capture → bad show-rate on calls
- Specificity in ad = quality of leads
- Pixel Conditioning + media-testing specificity = compounding pixel quality

### Compliance Gate (hard)
- **No income guarantees** (Meta + FTC compliance)
- **No health claims** without clinical backing
- **No before/after** without context + disclaimer
- **Banned vocabulary** sweep (INV-7)
- **Meta-specific restricted categories** check (if creator is in health, finance, credit)

## Tacit Principles

1. **Generic creative = burn.** Every ad must embed ICP Section 9 VOC — verbatim or near-verbatim language.

2. **Hook dies in 3 seconds.** First 3 seconds of video / first 2 lines of image ad / first slide of carousel must earn the rest of the ad.

3. **Test the family, not the ad.** 3-5 variants per family. Winner gets scaled. Loser family killed.

4. **One CTA per ad.** "Apply now" or "Book call" — never both. Multiple CTAs = confused prospect.

5. **UGC style beats polished at high ad frequency.** When your audience has seen your polished ad 3+ times, UGC-styled creative keeps CTR alive.

6. **Profile Funnel Ads for organic-first creators.** Direct response ads burn for creators without infrastructure. Send to profile → let profile do the selling.

7. **Retargeting creative must differ from cold.** Cold = introduce problem. Warm retargeting = reveal mechanism. Hot retargeting = urgency + case study.

8. **Specificity is the test — sophistication is cope.** Beautiful creative without specific audience/problem/outcome fails. Ugly UGC with brutal specificity wins.

9. **Scale via duplication, not bid increases.** Winning ad? Duplicate the campaign at 2× budget. Don't increase bid on existing (breaks pixel learning).

10. **Every ad has a compliance sanity check.** "Would this pass Meta policy review?" if unsure → revise. Rejected ads = wasted time + pixel pollution.

## Process

### Phase 0 — Load Dependencies
- Read `company.yaml` compartments 1, 2, 3, 5, 7
- Read latest `output/design-offer/`
- Read latest `output/build-icp/` (VOC Section 9 is critical)
- Read latest `output/build-positioning/` (mechanism)
- Read latest `output/extract-voice/` (phrases_to_use)
- Read `reference/frameworks/instagram-profile-funnel/README.md` (Instagram profile-funnel methodology)
- Read `reference/frameworks/primitives/specificity.md` (media-testing methodology)
- Read `reference/operators/growth-engineer.md` (Pixel Conditioning + Creative Family Micro Tests)

### Phase 1 — Ad Type Selection
Apply decision tree based on:
- Creator organic infrastructure (has IG profile? YouTube channel?)
- Budget tier (low <$5K/mo → Profile Funnel + UGC; $10K+ → multi-type)
- Offer price tier (low-ticket → image/carousel; high-ticket → video)
- Testimonial availability (permission-cleared? → Type 5)
- Audience temperature (cold → Types 3/4/7; warm → Type 2; profile → Type 1)

### Phase 2 — Creative Family Plan
For selected ad type, plan a family:
- Family = 3-5 variants
- Variants share **angle** + **hook** + **offer**
- Variants differ in **format** + **visual** + **tone calibration**

### Phase 3 — Hook + Copy Writing (per variant)
Draft each variant:
- **Hook** (first 3s / first line) — specificity ≥ 8
- **Body** — mechanism thread (from Positioning Doc)
- **CTA** — single, specific, low-friction

Voice-match against Compartment 1.brand_voice_architecture.phrases_to_use.

### Phase 4 — Visual Brief (per variant)
For designers / creator execution:
- Format (aspect ratio, platform, runtime)
- Visual concept (specific, not generic)
- Text overlay placement
- Color palette reference
- B-roll requirements (if video)

### Phase 5 — Compliance Check
- Income / health / financial claims
- Before/after handling
- Banned vocabulary
- Meta restricted category check (if applicable)

### Phase 6 — Specificity Scoring
Score each variant 1-10 on 5 dimensions. Sum / 5. Must be ≥ 8 to ship.

### Phase 7 — Pixel Conditioning Plan
Recommend campaign structure:
- Warm audience first (custom audiences from funnel)
- Lookalikes of warm audiences (1% then 2-5%)
- Cold interests only after warm proves out
- Value-based optimization from day 1

### Phase 8 — Creative Brief Summary
Final deliverable:
- Ad type + reasoning
- Family variant count (3-5)
- Per-variant: hook, copy, visual brief, CTA, specificity score
- Launch readiness checklist
- Campaign structure recommendation
- Budget allocation recommendation (split across variants)

## Output Format

```markdown
# Ad Creative Brief — [Creator Brand] — [Offer / Campaign]

**Ad Type:** [1 Profile Funnel | 2 Retargeting | 3 Video Hook | 4 Video Story | 5 Testimonial | 6 Image | 7 Carousel | 8 UGC]
**Family Variant Count:** [N variants]
**Target Audience:** [ICP segment]
**Specificity Score (avg):** [N / 10]
**Compliance:** [PASS]
**Voice-Match:** [VERIFIED]
**Version:** 1.0

---

## Ad Type Selection Reasoning
[why this type, why not others]

## Creative Family — Shared Angle + Hook + Offer
- **Angle:** [e.g. "Your growth ceiling is your offer, not your traffic"]
- **Hook:** [first-3-second line]
- **Offer:** [exact offer pull from Offer Doc]
- **Primary CTA:** [single action]

---

## Variant 1 — [Format]
**Specificity Score:** [N/10] across {audience, problem, mechanism, outcome, creative}

### Hook
[first 3 seconds / first line — verbatim]

### Body Copy
[full copy — voice-matched]

### CTA
[single action]

### Visual Brief
- Format: [1:1 / 9:16 / 4:5 / 16:9]
- Concept: [specific, not generic]
- Text overlay: [placement + content]
- Palette: [colors]
- Runtime: [N seconds if video]
- B-roll: [requirements if video]

### Platforms
- Meta (FB + IG): [yes/no]
- TikTok: [yes/no]
- LinkedIn: [yes/no]
- YouTube: [yes/no]

---

## Variant 2 — [Format]
[repeat structure]

## Variant 3 — [Format]
[repeat]

---

## Campaign Structure Recommendation
### Audience Strategy
1. **Stage 1 — Warm** — Custom audiences (past visitors, engaged 365d, VSL 50% watchers)
2. **Stage 2 — LALs** — 1% LAL of purchasers + 2-5% LAL of opt-ins
3. **Stage 3 — Cold interests** — only after Stage 1+2 proven

### Optimization Settings
- Campaign objective: [Conversions / Leads / Messages]
- Optimization event: [Purchase / Lead / ViewContent]
- Value-based optimization: [Yes — requires Meta CAPI + Stripe wired]
- Budget type: CBO or ABO (per scale tier)
- Bidding: Cost cap or Highest volume (per the growth engineer Creative Family Micro Tests)

### Budget Allocation
| Variant | % of family budget | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| V1 | 40% | Primary hook test |
| V2 | 30% | Secondary hook |
| V3 | 30% | Format variant |

### Scale Playbook (growth-engineering methodology)
1. Family proves: CPL < target + downstream conversion in benchmark
2. Duplicate winning variant at 2× budget (don't increase existing bid)
3. Build lookalikes from purchasers (once 100+ converted)
4. Cold-interest audiences last (after 2+ LAL tiers prove)

## Compliance Checklist
- [ ] No income guarantees
- [ ] No health claims without clinical backing
- [ ] No before/after without disclaimer
- [ ] Banned vocabulary swept (INV-7)
- [ ] Meta restricted category check (if applicable)
- [ ] FTC disclosure if testimonials

## Pixel Conditioning Plan
[per the growth engineer + the VSL director methodology]

## Launch Readiness Checklist
- [ ] All N variants written + voice-matched
- [ ] Visual briefs clear for design handoff
- [ ] Compliance passed
- [ ] Specificity scores ≥ 8
- [ ] Pixel + Meta CAPI wired
- [ ] Tracking UTMs per variant
- [ ] Landing page / profile / VSL tested
- [ ] Creator review on all copy

---

## Appendix A — Competitor Ad Intelligence (from Meta Ad Library)
[screenshots + analysis of top 5 direct competitors currently running — what angles / formats / frequencies]

## Appendix B — Voice-Match Audit
[phrases_to_use placements, banned vocab removals per variant]

## Appendix C — Specificity Breakdown per Variant
[5-dimension scoring tables]
```

## Important Rules

- **NEVER ship creative without Specificity Score ≥ 8.**
- **NEVER include income / health / financial guarantees.**
- **NEVER run ads without pixel + Meta CAPI properly wired.**
- **NEVER test random variants** — test creative families with shared angle.
- **NEVER scale via bid increases** — always duplicate campaigns.
- **ALWAYS thread the unique mechanism.**
- **ALWAYS voice-match to Compartment 1 phrases_to_use.**
- **ALWAYS compliance-check before ship.**
- **ALWAYS specify value-based optimization from day 1.**

## Verification Checklist

- [ ] Ad type selected with reasoning
- [ ] 3-5 variants per family
- [ ] Per-variant: hook + copy + CTA + visual brief
- [ ] Voice-matched with 3+ `phrases_to_use`
- [ ] Mechanism threaded
- [ ] Specificity Score ≥ 8 per variant
- [ ] Compliance checklist passed
- [ ] Pixel Conditioning plan drafted
- [ ] Campaign structure + budget allocation specified
- [ ] Scale playbook documented
- [ ] Banned vocabulary swept
- [ ] Creator review scheduled
- [ ] Triple-layer S/N ≥ 0.8

## Next Skills

- `/landing-page` — ensure landing page matches ad creative promise
- `/post-booking-nurture` — for ads sending to call funnels
- `/content-calendar` — organic content that supports paid (omnichannel lift)
- `/ig-profile-funnel` — if Profile Funnel Ad (Type 1) selected, optimize the profile

## References

- `reference/frameworks/primitives/specificity.md` (media-testing methodology)
- `reference/frameworks/instagram-profile-funnel/README.md` (Instagram profile-funnel methodology)
- `reference/operators/growth-engineer.md` (Pixel Conditioning + Creative Family Micro Tests)
- `reference/operators/operations-director.md` (Post-Andromeda scaling)
- `reference/operators/paid-media-director.md` (IG ad stack)
- `reference/canonical/frameworks/cult-methodology/README.md` (authority positioning in ad hooks)
- `reference/canonical/spec/INTEGRATIONS.md` (Meta Ads API + CAPI + Figma + Drive)

---

*Version 1.0 — 2026-04-19. Cycle 3 (Attract) cornerstone skill. Paid ads without this skill = pixel pollution + LTV:CAC collapse.*