TCM 033: My Top 5 Sources for Ad Inspiration
My Top 5 Sources for Ad Inspiration
TCM 033 / Sunday, 07th April 2024 / Read time: 2 minutes
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Struggling to find that spark for your next ad campaign? I get it. The ad world is freaking noisy, and often you need to mute the chaos to create something impactful.
Today's newsletter is the straight shot of where I find ad inspiration that gets me out of a creative rut and into a productive flow state:
1) Creative OS
I've been a paying customer of Creative OS for over 7 months. If you're doing ads in-house – or even if you're using an agency – save your energy and the cost of a designer, or at least double your output.
Their Canva (and Figma) templates cut my design time in half and doubled the impact. Easily one of the best investments I've made in years.
The monthly fee more than pays for itself in one ad.
I spend 5-10 minutes a day duplicating a template, iterating on it and uploading it to Meta to test.
2) GPT-4
I do this in tandem with Creative OS templates above:
- Download a template
- Upload it to Chat GPT-4
- Input the prompt: "Please use the uploaded ad as inspiration. Rewrite the copy for this product: [YOUR PRODUCT URL]. Provide 3 examples."
Feed GPT-4 your product link and watch it churn out ad copy variations that hit. You can then copy and paste those back into Canva/Figma.
Mix, match, tweak – I find my ad voice without losing my mind and without wasting hours.
Try it. Your creativity will thank you.
Keep running the prompt ("Another 5 please") and piece together concepts that you love.
3) Facebook Ad Library
If I see a brand that grabs me (even if it's in another industry), I'll run to their Facebook/Meta ad library to see what I can learn.
Again, I'll quite often download/screenshot an ad, run it through GPT-4 and ask it for help ideating ad concepts for my brand and products.
You might have noticed – I frequently use GPT -4 as a co-pilot to get creative juices flowing.
Even if the AI gives me junk outputs, I'll quickly build a list of ideas I don't like, which usually puts me on the right path.
4) MarketingExamples.com
Need a quick hit of brilliance? Marketing Examples is a beauty of a site.
It's my shortcut to seeing what's cutting through the noise without the fluff.
And often, the stark reminder I need that simple so often wins.
5) The Ad Professor on Twitter / X
Sometimes, old school is the best school. The Ad Professor serves up vintage ads with lessons that still pack a punch today.
Everything old is new again.
I'll take inspiration from an old ad and consider how I can apply it to something I'm selling.
Again, if you're struggling... GPT-4 is your copilot here.
There you have it. 5 resources that keep the inspiration flowing and the ads converting. No more excuses. Get out there and create something great – make this part of a daily practice for 10 minutes to create 1 new static ad per day.
If you want to go deeper into ads, my upcoming 2024 Edition of The Ecom OS dives into ad creatives and how I'm leveraging AI more and more to save $1000s every month.
Until next time – I hope this is helpful to one of you out there.
Have a great week ahead!
Tom
P.S. Found a secret source of your own? Hit that reply button. Sharing is caring, and I'm always on the lookout to improve. My firm belief: a rising tide lifts all ships.
