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

1. 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.
2. 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]
3. 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]
4. Choose a human premise. Use the concept rules to turn a feature into an experienced problem or change. Separate the premise from its visual vessel. Compare the weak and improved drafts in the illustrations if the concept still depends on product familiarity. [S4]
5. Match the vessel to the audience. Apply the style and authenticity rules. Select a phone recording, founder account, note, demonstration, or other format because the research supports it. Preserve useful product-quality cues and remove decorative marketing signals that slow recognition. [S1][S2][S3]
6. Draft distinct concepts. Fill the concept card for each chosen premise: opening, human situation, product role, benefit, evidence, and action. Make the product's contribution understandable. Include production instructions sufficient for another person to execute the idea without guessing its point. [S1][S4]
7. Create a meaningful alternative. Use the iteration rules to write an alternate opening or angle and name the hypothesis it tests. A different human situation should change what appears or happens, not only replace a headline. Keep the underlying offer consistent where comparison requires it.
8. Verify credibility. Follow the authenticity cautions. Identify real speakers, substantiated claims, and any synthetic material. Separate scripted illustrations from customer evidence. Supply AI with research context before using it for variants. [S2][S7]
9. Review in context. Run the pass/fail checklist at phone size beside relevant feed examples. Ask a cold reviewer what is happening, who it concerns, and what changes. Record failures and revise the premise, delivery, or clarity before investing in extra polish.
10. Plan a fair comparison. Complete the testing fields using the testing guidance. Name the existing benchmark, comparable conditions, budget limits, evidence needs, and acquisition outcomes. Include shares as a diagnostic signal without treating them as proof of profitability. [S5][S6]
11. Deliver and close the learning loop. Return the completed brief, review status, and next decision. Label untested predictions as hypotheses. If results exist, explain what they support and which meaningful change should come next. A proposed test does not itself authorize spending or publishing.

Files in this skill

• references/method.md: Full principles, decision rules, research, testing, edge cases, and explicit cautions.
• references/sources.md: Eight fetched public sources with citation identifiers and contribution notes.
• examples/worked-examples.md: Two invented illustrations showing weak drafts, improved concepts, and the rules behind the changes.
• templates/output-template.md: Fill-in creative brief, concept cards, review record, and proposed test plan with field guidance.
• checklists/review-checklist.md: Pass/fail review, evidence status, common failure modes, and concrete fixes.