hott-ugly-ads
Barry Hott's Ugly Ads
Based on Barry Hott's public method. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Barry Hott.
When to use
Use this skill to develop, revise, brief, or diagnose paid social creative for scrolling feeds, especially Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. It produces a production-ready creative brief with distinct concepts, opening alternatives, evidence notes, a review, and a proposed learning plan. The central question is whether the intended viewer will recognize something relevant to their own life before scrolling away. [S1][S4][S8]
Use it for premium products too. Choose production style from the audience and placement rather than price alone. For television, YouTube, and other contexts that suit polished production, adapt the style accordingly. A campaign's awareness objective does not change what viewers expect in their feed. [S1][S3]
Read the method before developing concepts. Open the examples for calibration, the template while drafting, and the checklist before delivery. The sources establish attribution; they are not a substitute for current audience research. If research or account data is unavailable, distinguish assumptions from observations and propose how to resolve the gaps. Do not invent customer experiences, feed evidence, or performance results.
Procedure
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Frame the assignment. Use the brief fields to record the audience, situation, placement, offer, desired action, and practical constraints. Identify whether the task concerns new creative or an existing asset. Record missing facts that could change the concept rather than silently choosing an audience.
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Adopt the cold viewer's perspective. Read the viewing-moment rules. Assume little brand knowledge and little available attention. Describe a frustration, desire, or recognizable result in one sentence. Explain why someone unfamiliar with the product would care. [S4][S8]
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Study the actual feed. Follow the research procedure. Collect relevant organic examples and note their audience, context, camera, language, pace, and opening. Keep links and observation dates in the template. Identify whether each reference is observed or merely proposed. [S7]