Steal these winning Black Friday ads

SUMMARY

Spencer Pawliw analyzes effective Black Friday and Cyber Monday ad creatives, sharing "stealable" examples from brands like Hike Footwear and Grüns to boost e-commerce sales, emphasizing both flashy and basic strategies for Q4 success.

STATEMENTS

Flashy new ads can excite audiences but basic, "boring" ads often outperform them during Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Founder text and image ads, like Hike Footwear's, stand out in crowded feeds by offering better deals for BFCM weekends.
Insane deal ads grab attention by making bold claims backed by clear value statements, driving curiosity without always revealing prices.
Bundling products in ads increases average order value, especially for new customers seeking safe, gift-oriented purchases.
"Everything % off" messaging builds customer confidence more than "up to % off," avoiding deception perceptions common in big brands.
Static image ads frequently outperform videos during BFCM sales, though testing both is essential.
Evergreen ads should never be turned off; they often scale well even during peak promotional periods.
Subtle Black Friday messaging, like small stickers on proven creatives, maintains attention without overwhelming the core hook.
Scarcity tactics, such as highlighting sold-out events, build trust and urgency, particularly in skeptical industries like skincare.
Sticky note ads are simple, low-cost DIY content using everyday items to tap into scarcity or offers, ideal for brands lacking resources.
Banner videos reuse top-performing ads with BFCM overlays in separate promo campaigns to leverage past success.
Turning on historical BFCM winners from previous years can rapidly scale ad spend and performance.
Creative diversity through testing multiple angles ensures adaptability to varying audience responses in Q4.
Starting BFCM campaigns earlier allows for feedback loops, iterations, and optimization before peak weekends.
Big brands like Savage Comfort use "up to" discounts strategically to drive traffic, applying deeper cuts only to clearance items.
Copy in ads should hook with emotional pain points or USPs to complement visual elements effectively.
Pre-sale ads combining discounts with wait times heighten urgency while securing future revenue.
Brands with strong founders benefit from personal video ads that cut through generic sale noise.

IDEAS

Basic ads surprisingly dominate flashy ones in BFCM because they rely on proven fundamentals over novelty.
Founder ads disguised as standard offers can surprise with superior BFCM deals, tricking early testers into higher engagement.
Claiming an "insane deal" without specifying price sparks curiosity but risks backlash if the value doesn't match hype.
Bundles positioned as "the best thing" guide uncertain new customers toward higher-spend options during gift season.
"Everything off" phrasing counters big-brand tricks like "up to % off," fostering trust in smaller operations.
Evergreen campaigns persist through promotions because they sell core value, not just discounts, sustaining long-term performance.
Subtle BFCM hints on evergreen winners preserve scroll-stopping headlines while signaling timeliness.
Sold-out claims in scarcity ads indirectly validate product quality, turning skepticism into belief via social proof.
DIY sticky notes on product photos democratize ad creation, requiring only minimal tools like a Sharpie and iPhone.
Reapplying old seasonal ads exploits recurring buyer patterns, potentially multiplying spend without new production.
Early Q4 testing builds a arsenal of iterated creatives, transforming feedback into scaled weekend dominance.
Nonchalant "on us" freebies in bundles evoke hospitality, masking free items as thoughtful additions rather than gimmicks.
Split-screen ads juxtapose products with discounts to visualize value, but demand sitewide consistency to avoid letdowns.
Video banners on winners balance promo urgency with established creative strength in dedicated campaigns.

INSIGHTS

Proven simplicity in ads often trumps innovation during high-stakes sales, as audiences prioritize reliability over spectacle in decision-making.
Strategic ambiguity in pricing hooks curiosity but underscores the need for landing pages that deliver on promises to convert impulse clicks.
Bundling reframes shopping psychology for novices, elevating perceived safety and value in a sea of unfamiliar brands.
Language precision like "everything off" rebuilds eroded trust from manipulative big-brand tactics, empowering smaller players.
Evergreen persistence reveals that core messaging endures seasonal noise, blending timeless appeal with timely promotions for hybrid success.
Scarcity narratives leverage indirect proof, converting doubt into demand by mirroring real market behaviors without fabrication.
Early iteration cycles in Q4 advertising mimic evolutionary adaptation, refining creatives through real data for exponential peak performance.
Low-barrier DIY tactics lower entry hurdles, proving that resource constraints foster creativity in content-starved environments.
Historical reactivation exploits seasonal rhythms, highlighting how past data predicts future wins more reliably than untested ideas.

QUOTES

"This deal is insane."
"Life is better when you bundle."
"Black Friday is here, so is the biggest deal of the year."
"Due to extreme demand, the kill acne and redness ritual is sold out. For this, we are offering a unique discount."
"Why has Norse Organic sold out 12 times?"
"Leave your evergreen campaign running in your ad account. Please do not turn it off."
"If you say this deal is insane, and you're like 15% off, like nobody's going to care."

HABITS

Maintain evergreen ad campaigns year-round without pausing them, even during promotional peaks like BFCM.
Test diverse creative formats early in Q4 to gather data and iterate before high-volume weekends.
Reuse and banner-overlay top-performing past ads, especially seasonal ones from previous Novembers.
Incorporate bundling in ads to guide new customers toward higher-value purchases instinctively.
Create simple DIY content using household items like sticky notes for quick scarcity or offer testing.
Prioritize copy that hooks emotionally or via USPs, reviewing first two lines for maximum feed impact.

FACTS

Brands like Grüns achieve high engagement by subtly integrating BFCM elements into evergreen headlines that already crush performance.
Norse Organics has reportedly sold out 12 times, validating scarcity claims in the competitive skincare market.
Static ads often outperform videos during BFCM for sale-focused campaigns due to faster load times and clarity.
High-engagement ads, tracked via tools like Ad Spy, correlate strongly with shares and overall winners in client accounts.
Fashion brands like Savage Comfort use "up to 70% off" to drive traffic, applying max discounts mainly to clearance inventory.
Q4 brings more new customers who shop differently, favoring bundles for gifts and seeking brand reassurance.

REFERENCES

Hike Footwear (founder text and image ads).
Ancestral Supplements (insane deal ads).
Savage Comfort (split-screen up to % off ads).
Loop (bundle ads with free items).
Grüns (subtle BFCM evergreen ads).
Norse Organics (scarcity video and sticky note ads).
Ad Spy (creative reporting and ad spying tool).
Triple Whale (analytics for scaling).
Insense UGC (user-generated content platform).
Opensend (abandoned cart reduction tool).

HOW TO APPLY

Identify your top evergreen ads and launch a separate promo campaign for BFCM, keeping originals running to capture baseline traffic.
Craft insane deal creatives by starting with bold hooks like "this deal is insane," followed by clear bundle values but ambiguous pricing to drive clicks.
Design bundle-focused statics showing multiple products with free add-ons, using copy like "life is better when you bundle" to justify higher spends.
Add subtle BFCM stickers or banners to proven winners without altering core headlines, testing in promo campaigns for timely conversions.
Produce DIY sticky note photos by placing products on a laptop screen, writing urgency messages like "pre-sale 25% off," and shooting with an iPhone for quick tests.
Reactivate last year's BFCM performers by reviewing ad account data from November/December, relaunching originals or with new banners to scale spend rapidly.

ONE-SENTENCE TAKEAWAY

Steal diverse BFCM ad strategies blending basics, bundles, and scarcity to scale e-commerce revenue beyond expectations.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Test founder-facing ads for larger brands to personalize offers and stand out from generic sale noise.
Always back bold claims in creatives with tangible value displays to convert curiosity into sales.
Push bundles aggressively in Q4 to exploit gift-buying behaviors and boost average order values naturally.
Opt for "everything % off" language if discounts are modest, building trust against big-brand skepticism.
Integrate real scarcity stories only if verifiable, enhancing credibility without risking deception.
Diversify creatives across statics, videos, and DIY formats early to refine via data before peaks.
Reuse historical winners with minimal tweaks, capitalizing on proven engagement for quick scaling.
Maintain evergreen campaigns perpetually, layering promo elements to sustain performance through seasons.

MEMO

Spencer Pawliw, a seasoned e-commerce ad strategist, dives into the high-stakes world of Black Friday and Cyber Monday creatives, urging brands to "steal" proven tactics from top performers. In a landscape flooded with discount banners, he warns that flashy innovations often pale against "boring" fundamentals—simple, reliable ads that quietly dominate sales. Drawing from brands scaling $1 million daily, Pawliw highlights how founder-led image ads from Hike Footwear cut through the noise, offering subtle upgrades like extra store credit during peak weekends to surprise and delight shoppers.

At the heart of his strategy lies the power of psychological hooks. Insane deal ads from Ancestral Supplements exemplify this, boldly proclaiming value without full price reveals to spark insatiable curiosity, though Pawliw cautions that mismatched offers can backfire. Bundles emerge as a cornerstone, transforming uncertain new customers—common in Q4 gift rushes—into high-value buyers. Loop's earplug kits, with nonchalant "on us" freebies tailored for focus, music, or events, illustrate how logical justifications elevate perceived necessity, saving 25% while driving average order values skyward.

Pawliw dissects discount phrasing's nuances: Big players like Savage Comfort wield "up to 70% off" to lure traffic, reserving deep cuts for clearance stock, while smaller brands thrive with transparent "everything % off" assurances, countering consumer wariness bred by corporate sleights. Evergreen campaigns, he insists, must run uninterrupted, blending timeless USPs with subtle BFCM stickers as in Grüns' weight-loss hooks, preserving scroll-stopping power amid seasonal frenzy. Statics often eclipse videos here, their clarity suiting impulse-driven sales.

Scarcity reigns supreme for trust-building, especially in dubious categories like skincare. Norse Organics' sold-out tallies—12 times and counting—implicitly vouch for efficacy, amplified in pre-sale sticky note ads that any iPhone user can DIY with a Sharpie and Staples haul. Pawliw demystifies content creation: No face or dance required; just urgency-scrawled notes on product screenshots to test angles cheaply. Banner videos repurpose winners, overlaying promo calls in dedicated campaigns, while reactivating last year's hits can quadruple spend overnight.

Ultimately, Pawliw advocates starting early—weeks ahead—to foster creative diversity and feedback loops, iterating toward Q4 dominance. This approach, echoed in his agency's $1 million daily blueprints, turns Black Friday into a revenue avalanche, rewarding preparation over panic in e-commerce's fiercest arena.