Instead of guessing prompts, take a screenshot of a viral ad. Feed the image into an AI tool like Gemini and ask it to write a detailed prompt to create a similar person or scene. This allows you to recreate the style and vibe of high-performing creative without illegally copying someone's likeness.

Instead of fully AI-generated ads that may lack a human touch, a hybrid approach is more effective. Humans provide the core creative asset (e.g., a short video), and an AI agent then automates the testing of different copy, edits, and targeting to optimize performance at scale.

Instead of trying to create something entirely new, effective copywriters begin their process by finding successful examples to model. Dave Gerhardt's first step for a new landing page or newsletter is to analyze best-in-class work from others to understand what works.

The brain conserves energy by predicting outcomes; if an ad is identical every time, the brain tunes it out. Brands like Specsavers succeed by blending familiar assets (the slogan "Should've gone to Specsavers") with novel creative executions. This mix captures attention while still reinforcing existing, powerful brand memories.

While it's tempting to double down on a successful creative format, this leads to rising acquisition costs. The algorithm requires diversity. Constantly creating net-new, varied, and even "weird" ideas across different ages, genders, and settings is essential for sustained performance.

Instead of imitating successful competitors' tactics, deconstruct them to understand the underlying psychological principle (e.g., scarcity, social proof). This allows for authentic adaptation to your specific context, avoiding the high risk of failure from blind copying which ignores differences in brand and audience.

Instead of asking AI for general ideas, feed it a successful piece of content and use a detailed prompt to reverse-engineer its success. Ask the AI to analyze specific components like hook type, format, pacing, editing style, and audio. This provides a reusable template you can adapt to your own niche.

Instead of creating ads from scratch, identify top-performing organic content and repurpose it for paid campaigns. The viral creative has already proven its appeal (brand building); simply add conversion-focused elements like banners and direct copy to drive sales performance.

To break out of the B2B 'sea of sameness,' perform a simple visual audit. Aggregate all competitor websites, ads, and communications onto a single slide. This will immediately reveal the category's dominant codes, allowing you to strategically do the opposite.