What Ads Are Working on Meta Right Now

We’ve been diving deep into creative performance for one of our health and wellness brands, and guess what? The ads that don’t look like ads are driving the best results.

Let’s break it all down so you can use these ideas for your own ads.

✅ Podcast Style Ads That Blend In

One of our best-performing ads looked like a casual podcast clip. It didn’t feel polished or salesy, which helped it stand out. Instead of people skipping past it, they stopped and watched.

• It felt like a regular Instagram Reel, not an ad.

• The first few seconds were super engaging. More than 50% of viewers kept watching after the first 3 seconds.

• The conversational style made people feel like they were discovering something cool, not being sold to.

How to do this yourself:

• Record an ad in a natural, unscripted style, like it’s part of a podcast or casual video.

• Avoid making it look too polished—think organic content.

• Test different hooks that grab attention, like fun facts, personal stories, or surprising benefits.

✅ Leading With Benefits

Ads that showed how the product helps people performed way better than ones that talked about features. For example, a simple line like “This makes your mornings better” caught attention immediately.

• People don’t want to be sold. They want to know how their life will improve.

• It addressed a common pain point (mornings can be rough) in a relatable way.

How to do this yourself:

• Start your ad by calling out a problem your audience has.

• Follow up immediately with a clear benefit your product offers.

• Make it easy to understand. Don’t use complicated terms or too much detail upfront.

Apply to work with us here to see how we’re scaling Meta ads with smarter, more cost-effective creative production. I’m happy to share our process and examples to show how this can work for your brand.

✅ Using Familiar Faces and Interests

One ad mentioned golfer Phil Mickelson and showed golf clips in the first few seconds. This grabbed the attention of golf fans who were instantly interested.

• It felt relevant to a specific group (golfers).

• People saw something they cared about (golf) before they even realized it was an ad.

How to do this yourself:

• Use niche references or icons that resonate with your audience.

• Tailor your ad visuals and messaging to feel personal to their interests.

• The more it feels like it’s “made for them” the more they’ll pay attention.

What We’re Doing Next

We’re doubling down on podcast-style ads and experimenting with more “native” formats that feel organic to social media platforms.

We’ll also test hooks that lean into specific audience interests (like golf or morning routines).

If you’ve tried similar ideas or have strategies that are working for you, reply and let me know. I would love to hear from you!

In another newsletter later this week, I’ll dive into the ads that haven’t worked for us and share the mistakes to avoid when creating your ads.

How We Can Help You

Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways we can help you…

1. Looking for a creative partner to handle everything? We’ll produce winning ads every month and help you scale. Apply to work with us here. Our clients include brands like HexClad, BestSelf, and Morning Brew.

2. Want to build a team that can create hundreds of winning ads? We’ll train your internal team and implement our proven creative systems. Apply here.

3. Don’t want to hire anyone but still want a steady stream of winning ads? Join our program and learn the creative production process we’ve developed over 3 years and tens of thousands of ads.