Creative Killers
The patterns that kill ads. If your creative matches any of these, the psychological mechanism is broken. Learn to spot them. 30 techniques, each with the behavioral mechanism that makes it work.
All Creative Killers
Generic Language
Vague marketing speak anyone could write.
Early Payoff
Resolving tension before it's built.
Low Stakes
No consequence for inaction.
Mechanism Drift
Losing the psychological thread.
Benefit First Framing
Leading with what the product does.
Product Before Permission
Naming the product before blame shift.
Advice Voice
Sounding like a friend giving tips.
Viewer Blame
Making the viewer feel at fault.
Adjective Stacking
Hype words piled up.
Credential Dumping
Authority claims without proof.
Feature Listing
Specs without meaning.
Resolution Leak
Hinting at the answer too soon.
Multiple Asks
Too many CTAs competing.
Hedge Language
Maybe, might, could, possibly.
Explanation Before Demonstration
Telling before showing.
Abstraction Without Anchor
Concepts without examples.
Momentum Loss
Energy drops mid-content.
Parallel Threads
Multiple unresolved ideas at once.
False Urgency
Manufactured scarcity that feels fake.
Identity Threat
Attacking their self-concept.
Information Dump
Too much at once.
Logic Before Emotion
Reason before feeling.
Process Over Outcome
How instead of what they get.
Self Focus
Brand-centric not reader-centric.
Assumption Of Awareness
Expecting them to already know.
Premature Optimization
Details before desire is built.
Category Language
Industry jargon they don't use.
Undifferentiated Claims
Anyone could say it.
Proof Without Context
Data without meaning.
Solution Without Problem
Answer to an unasked question.
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