iblai-marketing-ad-creative

name	iblai-marketing-ad-creative
description	When the user wants to generate, iterate, or scale ad creative — headlines, descriptions, primary text, or full ad variations — for any paid advertising platform. Also use when the user mentions 'ad copy variations,' 'ad creative,' 'generate headlines,' 'RSA headlines,' 'bulk ad copy,' 'ad iterations,' 'creative testing,' 'ad performance optimization,' 'write me some ads,' 'Facebook ad copy,' 'Google ad headlines,' 'LinkedIn ad text,' or 'I need more ad variations.' Use this whenever someone needs to produce ad copy at scale or iterate on existing ads. For campaign strategy and targeting, see iblai-marketing-paid-ads. For landing page copy, see iblai-marketing-copywriting.
globs	null
alwaysApply	false
metadata	{"version":"1.1.0"}

/iblai-marketing-ad-creative

Generate performance ad creative at scale — headlines, descriptions, primary text — and iterate on it using real performance data.

Step 0: Context Check

Read .agents/product-marketing-context.md (or .claude/product-marketing-context.md on older setups) first. Only ask for what isn't there.

Pull this context before writing:

1. Platform & Format

• Platform: Google Ads, Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok, Twitter/X
• Format: Search RSAs, display, social feed, stories, video
• Iterating on existing ads or starting from scratch?

2. Product & Offer

• What's being promoted (product, feature, free trial, demo, lead magnet)
• Core value proposition
• Real differentiator vs. competitors

3. Audience & Intent

• Target audience
• Awareness stage: problem-aware, solution-aware, product-aware
• Pain points or desires that drive them

4. Performance Data (if iterating)

• Creative currently running
• Top performers (by CTR, CVR, ROAS)
• Underperformers
• Angles/themes already tested

5. Constraints

• Brand voice rules or banned words
• Compliance (industry regs, platform policies)
• Mandatory elements (brand name, trademark, disclaimers)

---

Two Modes

Mode 1: Generate from scratch. Produce a full creative set from product context, audience insight, and platform best practices.

Mode 2: Iterate from performance data. User supplies CSV / paste / API output. Identify patterns in winners, generate variations that double down on them and probe new angles.

The loop:

Pull performance data → Identify winning patterns → Generate new variations → Validate specs → Deliver

---

Platform Specs

Platforms truncate or reject creative that exceeds these limits. Verify every line before delivery.

Google Ads (Responsive Search Ads)

Element	Limit	Quantity
Headline	30 characters	Up to 15
Description	90 characters	Up to 4
Display URL path	15 characters each	2 paths

RSA rules:

• Headlines must read independently and in any combination
• Pin headlines 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)

Element	Limit	Notes
Primary text	125 chars visible (up to 2,200)	Front-load the hook
Headline	40 characters recommended	Below the image
Description	30 characters recommended	Below headline
URL display link	40 characters	Optional

LinkedIn Ads

Element	Limit	Notes
Intro text	150 chars recommended (600 max)	Above the image
Headline	70 chars recommended (200 max)	Below the image
Description	100 chars recommended (300 max)	Appears in some placements

TikTok Ads

Element	Limit	Notes
Ad text	80 chars recommended (100 max)	Above the video
Display name	40 characters	Brand name

Twitter/X Ads

Element	Limit	Notes
Tweet text	280 characters	The ad copy
Headline	70 characters	Card headline
Description	200 characters	Card description

Full specs and placement variants: references/platform-specs.md.

---

Generating Ad Visuals

For image and video creative, see references/generative-tools.md. It covers:

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

Scaled production workflow:

1. Generate hero creative with AI tools (exploratory, high quality)
2. Build Remotion templates from 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 Angles

Set 3-5 distinct angles — different motivations to click — before writing any headlines.

Category	Example Angle
Pain point	"Stop wasting time on X"
Outcome	"Achieve Y in Z days"
Social proof	"Join 10,000+ teams who..."
Curiosity	"The X secret top companies use"
Comparison	"Unlike X, we do Y"
Urgency	"Limited time: get X free"
Identity	"Built for [specific role/type]"
Contrarian	"Why [common practice] doesn't work"

Step 2: Generate Variations per Angle

For each angle, 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

Check every line against platform character limits. Flag anything over and provide a trimmed alternative.

Step 4: Organize for Upload

Hand back creative in a structure that maps to the ad platform's upload format.

---

Iterating from Performance Data

Step 1: Analyze Winners

Top performers by CTR, CVR, or ROAS (ask which matters). Look for:

• Winning themes — what topics or pains appear repeatedly
• Winning structures — questions, statements, commands, numbers
• Winning word patterns — recurring words or phrases
• Character utilization — top performers shorter or longer

Step 2: Analyze Losers

• Themes that fall flat — angles not landing
• Patterns in low performers — too generic, too long, wrong tone

Step 3: Generate New Variations

• Double down on winning themes with fresh phrasing
• Extend winning angles into new variations
• Test 1-2 new angles
• Avoid the patterns found in underperformers

Step 4: Document the Iteration

## 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

Headlines That Click

Strong:

• 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
• Numbers when possible ("3x faster," "in 5 minutes," "10,000+ teams")

Avoid:

• Jargon the audience won't recognize
• Vague superlatives ("Best," "Leading," "Top")
• All caps or excessive punctuation
• Clickbait the landing page can't deliver

Descriptions That Convert

Don't repeat the headline. Use the slot to:

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

---

Output Formats

Standard Output

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

At scale (10+ variations), hand back CSV 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

## 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 production (Anthropic's growth team runs 100+ variations per cycle):

1. Split into sub-tasks

• Headlines — focused on click-through
• Descriptions — focused on conversion
• Primary text — 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

• Drop anything over the character limit
• Drop duplicates and near-duplicates
• Flag potential platform-policy violations
• Verify headline/description combinations make sense

---

Common Mistakes

• 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; include 2-3
• Generic descriptions — "Learn more about our solution" wastes the slot
• Iterating without data — Gut feelings lose to metrics
• Testing too many things at once — One variable per cycle
• Retiring creative too early — Allow 1,000+ impressions before judging

---

Tool Integrations

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

Platform	Pull Performance Data	Manage Campaigns	Guide
Google Ads	google-ads campaigns list, google-ads reports get	google-ads campaigns create	google-ads.md
Meta Ads	meta-ads insights get	meta-ads campaigns list	meta-ads.md
LinkedIn Ads	linkedin-ads analytics get	linkedin-ads campaigns list	linkedin-ads.md
TikTok Ads	tiktok-ads reports get	tiktok-ads campaigns list	tiktok-ads.md

Workflow: Pull, 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

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