High-Converting Ad Copy That Actually Works
Let me share a dirty little secret: Most ad copy sucks.
Yes, even from those fancy brands with massive budgets.
After 15+ years crafting campaigns for Heineken, Ray-Ban, and other big names, I've seen what separates ads that convert from those that burn money. And no, it's not about being "creative" or "disruptive."
The Brutal Truth About Today's Ad Copy:
→ It screams "features!" while customers whisper "so what?"
→ It's emotionally tone-deaf
→ It treats Tokyo like Texas
→ It ignores how humans actually make decisions
So how about we fix this mess?
1. The Psychology Game-Changer
Most marketers skip this, but Cialdini nailed it decades ago:
"Join 10,000+ customers who sleep better" (Social proof)
"Only 3 spots left for December" (Scarcity)
"Recommended by Harvard Sleep Lab" (Authority)
2. Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast
Fun fact: A campaign I ran for Heineken bombed in The Netherlands but exploded in Italy. Why? Cultural dimensions:
• Power Distance (How hierarchical is the society?)
• Individual vs. Collective Mindset
3. Headlines That Don't Suck
Typical: "Advanced Project Management Software"
Better: "Never Miss Another Deadline"
See the difference? One puts you to sleep, the other keeps you awake at night. Or well at least makes you sleep better.
4. Platform Reality Check
Each platform has its own language:
Google Ads: Solve immediate problems
Facebook: Trigger emotions
Instagram: Make them stop scrolling
5. The Testing ‘Manifesto’
At Heineken, I once tested 20+ ad variations (actually did that at multiple places). The winner? Not the one our creatives loved initially. What you wanna test:
Headlines (duh)
Call-to-actions
Pain points vs. gains
Emotional triggers
Colors
Emoji’s
…
Quick Wins for your next round of ad copy:
→ Create real urgency (fake urgency = a dead brand)
→ Kill passive voice (it's killing your conversions)
→ One ad = one message
→ Write like you talk
→ A/B test it all
Fight me on this.
Most marketing degrees teach you wrong. They focus on creativity when they should focus on psychology.
Want to automate this?
I built a tool that gives you all of these ad copy variants based on:
• Your product
• Your audience
• Your target market
• Your unique benefits
Want an example?
Just to focus on the primary text here. I also run an Instagram account with my brother. It’s called Wine Reviewer, if you like wine check it out (I know shameless plug). But say I would run ads for that, I could say something boring like: “Come follow us for frequent wine reviews!”
Or…
I could apply different persuasion theories from Robert Cialdini. Like: Social Proof, Reciprocity, Authority.
Way more appealing right? Now this would give me options to test the options, scale what works, and stop what doesn’t. For a next round I could finetune that for country specific cultural dimensions. Nutshell example, Americans are overall more likely to engage with something that talks about, prestige, performance, power. While the Dutch on the other hand, being a more feminine culture would be more susceptible to social proof.
Let’s take another short example. Exactly this automation for ad copy. We set the scene on someone being completely unmoved by an ad she sees while scrolling through her socials:
Which appealed more to you?
Just out of interest, but you have to remember, this is about the stats, not the personal preference. Doing this at scale without having to break your budget on copywriters finds you more scientifically funded options to test, while creating budget for media.
All while appealing to specific human traits, preferences, etc. Connecting an offer to that part of them that is most susceptible to it.
Great ad copy is about understanding and appealing to humans, not just about being clever. Period.
