The ad-writing formula we use on every brief
How we write ads that stop the scroll, starting with the hook and ending with one clear ask.
Ricky · Advertising specialist
· 5 min read
Every ad we write has four jobs, in a fixed order: stop the right person, show them we understand their problem, give them one reason to believe, and ask for one thing. We call it hook, problem, proof, ask.
It isn't a template for the words. It's a checklist for what each line has to do, and we use it on every ad brief, from a single story ad to a full campaign. It keeps the copy short, and it gives the designer and the writer the same plan to work from.
Hook, problem, proof, ask. If a line isn't doing one of those four jobs, it comes out.
Start with the hook
The first line of a static ad, or the first second of a video, decides whether anyone sees the rest. People are scrolling past, so the hook has to name something the reader already cares about: a problem they have, a result they want, a question they've asked themselves.
A hook isn't your brand name, a greeting or a clever line that only makes sense once you've read the whole ad. A quick test: cover everything after the first line. Would the right person still stop? If not, rewrite that line before you touch anything else.
Name the problem in their words
Once someone stops, show them you understand where they are. Use the words your customer would use, not the words in your pitch deck. Nobody says they want “streamlined financial workflows.” They say they're tired of chasing invoices.
Reviews, sales calls and support emails are the best source for this line. If a customer said it out loud, it will read better than anything written in a meeting.
Give one reason to believe
Next comes one piece of proof: the feature that solves the problem, a guarantee, a detail that makes the promise concrete. One. An ad that lists five benefits asks the reader to do the sorting, and most won't.
If you have several strong points, that's several ads. Run them against each other instead of stacking them into one.
End with one clear ask
Every ad ends with a single action: book a call, shop the collection, start a trial. The last line and the button should say the same thing, and the page the ad links to should pick up exactly where the ad left off.
Two asks split the click, and “Learn more” asks for nothing in particular. Tell people what happens when they tap.
How it fits a brief
When an ad request comes in, we fill in these four lines before anyone opens a design file. Your Brand DNA supplies the voice and the audience, so the first version already sounds like you. The design and the copy then work from the same four lines, which is why the visual and the words point the same way.
- Hook: the line that stops the right person.
- Problem: their situation, in their words.
- Proof: one reason to believe it.
- Ask: one action, and a button that says the same thing.
Every piece is reviewed by a person before it ships. The formula doesn't replace judgment. It gives the reviewer a clear list to hold each ad against.