Building an Ad From Scratch

Building from scratch is where you take full creative control. You write the prompt, pick the format, choose the hook, set the scene, and specify the product and avatar. This is the workflow for when URL to Ad isn’t enough — or when you want to test very specific creative ideas. The workflow has six stages, and we’ll walk through each in order.

6.1 — Writing your prompt (and the @ shortcut)

Your prompt is the brief. It’s what tells Ad Studio what to make. The prompt field reads: “Describe your advertisement — use @ to add characters and products.” A good ad prompt answers five questions: who is in it, what they’re doing, what product is involved, what mood it has, and what action you want the viewer to take.

The @ shortcut

Typing @ in the prompt lets you pull in specific products and characters directly from your library. Instead of describing your product in words, you reference it by name and the system uses your uploaded assets. This matters more than it sounds — it’s the difference between a generic ad and an ad that actually shows your product.

Try this — Upload one product and one avatar into your library before you write your first prompt. Then type ”@[product] used by @[avatar] in…” — you’ll see how much more specific the output becomes when the system has actual assets to work with.

A simple prompt template that works

If you’re not sure how to start, use this template:

[Avatar] is [doing what] with [product] in [setting]. [What
they're feeling or saying]. Ends with [the call to action or
product reveal].

Example: “A young woman in her early twenties applies our vitamin C serum at her vanity in the morning light. She smiles as she looks in the mirror, clearly satisfied. Ends with a close-up of the product label.” That’s all you need. Add format, hook, setting, and assets in the chips below the prompt, and you’re ready to generate.

6.2 — Choosing the right format

Format is the single biggest decision you make. It determines the entire visual and structural language of the ad — the pacing, the angles, the energy, the production style. Ad Studio gives you seven formats. Pick the one that fits your product and your audience.

Don’t pick a format because it looks cool — pick it because it matches your product and audience. A luxury watch in UGC will feel cheap; a $9.99 hair clip in Pro Virtual Try On will feel like you’re trying too hard. Match the format to the product’s price point and emotional category.

The seven ad formats

Format	What it is	Best for	Why it works
UGC	User-generated-content style. Casual, phone-shot feel, real-person energy, vertical.	Mass-market consumer products, social-first brands, anywhere trust matters more than polish.	Feels like a recommendation from a friend. Highest stop-scroll on social feeds.
Unboxing	Anticipation → reveal → reaction. Shows the product being opened or discovered.	Physical products with strong packaging, gifts, gadgets, premium goods.	Triggers curiosity and desire. The reveal moment is hard to scroll past.
Review & Tutorial	Demonstrates how the product works, often with explanatory commentary.	Complex products, tech, beauty regimens, services — anything that needs explaining.	Addresses skepticism and answers the “how does it work?” question.
Virtual Try On	Shows the product worn or used by an avatar. Helps viewers visualize themselves with it.	Fashion, eyewear, accessories, makeup — anything you wear or apply.	Reduces hesitation. “Will this look good on me?” is answered visually.
Pro Virtual Try On	Higher-fidelity try-on with professional lighting and composition.	Premium fashion, luxury accessories, jewelry, high-end beauty.	Aspirational quality matches premium pricing. Signals luxury category.
ASMR	Sensory, sound-focused. Close-up shots and satisfying sounds (tapping, application, motion).	Beauty, skincare, food, candles, sensory goods.	Triggers a calming or pleasurable response. High dwell, high completion.
Hyper-Motion Product	Fast-cut, motion-heavy product showcase. Dramatic angles, kinetic energy.	Tech, sports, automotive, athletic wear — anything dynamic.	High energy captures attention in 1–2 seconds. Premium and fast.

6.3 — Picking a hook style

The first three seconds of an ad decide whether anyone watches the rest. The hook is the device you use to win those seconds. Ad Studio’s Hook menu offers a curated library of 15 of the most viral hook patterns — the same patterns that consistently top social platforms.

What a hook actually does

A hook does one of three things in the first frame:

Interrupts the scroll with something unexpected (motion, color, text, sound).
Opens a curiosity gap the viewer wants closed (“You won’t believe what happened…”).
Promises a payoff that matches what the viewer wants (“Three reasons this is the best…”).

If your hook doesn’t do at least one of those, your ad will be scrolled past — regardless of how good the rest is.

Test hooks aggressively. The same ad with a different hook can swing performance by 3–5×. Generate the same ad with three different hook archetypes, run all three for a small budget, and double down on the winner. Cycle every 7–10 days as fatigue sets in.

The 15 hooks map to a handful of proven archetypes. Knowing them helps you pick the right hook for the right product.

Archetype	What it does	When to use it
Pattern interrupt	Visually or audibly disrupts the scroll. “Stop scrolling if you…”	Crowded feeds, broad audiences, when you need raw attention.
Curiosity gap	Opens a question the viewer wants answered.	Story-driven products, anything with a transformation or twist.
Problem agitation	Names a pain point the audience feels.	Products that solve a specific problem (skincare, productivity, fitness).
POV	Drops the viewer into a first-person moment.	Lifestyle, fashion, food — anywhere relatability sells.
Question	Asks a question directly to the camera.	Educational products, services, anything requiring engagement.
Number / list	Promises a finite payoff. “3 reasons…”, “5 things…”	Comparison-friendly products, education, listicle content.
Confession	First-person honesty. “I have to admit…”	Trust-building, especially for new or unfamiliar brands.
Before & after	Sets up the transformation immediately.	Beauty, fitness, home improvement, visual transformation.
Comparison	Pits two things against each other.	Categories with strong alternatives or competitors.
Reaction	Shows the avatar’s reaction first, then the reveal.	Discovery-driven products, surprises, new launches.
Trend overlay	Rides a current viral format or audio.	Fast-moving social trends; ride the wave while it’s hot.
Bold claim	Makes a strong statement. “The best ___ I’ve tried.”	Confident category leaders, strong differentiation.
Warning	”Don’t buy ___ until you watch this.”	Categories full of bad options where you’re the right choice.
Story	Begins mid-narrative. “Here’s what happened when…”	Emotional or aspirational products, founder-led brands.
Demonstration	Shows the product in action immediately.	Physical-utility products where seeing it work sells it.

6.4 — Choosing a scene setting

Setting is where your ad takes place. It does two jobs: it places your product in a believable, relatable context, and it signals who the product is for. A gym setting whispers “this is for active people”; a luxury hotel suite says “this is premium.” Pick the setting that matches your product and your target audience.

Category	Examples	Best for
Home & domestic	Bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, living room, vanity, home office.	Lifestyle products, daily-routine items, anything used at home (beauty, kitchenware, wellness).
Lifestyle & social	Café, restaurant, gym, yoga studio, office, car interior.	Active lifestyle products, food and drink, fitness, work-from-anywhere gear.
Outdoor	Beach, urban street, park, nature, rooftop, balcony.	Outdoor gear, sunglasses, summer/seasonal products, travel items.
Studio / clean	Minimal white background, soft studio lighting, product-isolated.	Tech products, hero shots, anything where the product itself is the star.
Aspirational	Luxury hotel, boutique, high-end car, infinity pool, designer interior.	Premium and luxury products, aspirational positioning, high-AOV items.
Editorial / dramatic	Theatrical lighting, fashion-magazine composition, high-contrast.	Fashion, fragrance, beauty — selling a feeling more than a feature.

Settings carry hidden assumptions about your customer. A kitchen assumes the viewer cooks at home; a co-working space assumes flexible work. Pick a setting that flatters the way your customer wants to see themselves — not just one that fits the product.

6.5 — Output settings (aspect, quality, duration)

Open the Settings icon next to the Hook and Setting chips to control three output parameters: aspect ratio, quality, and duration. These determine how your ad fits onto each platform and how it looks once it’s there.

Aspect ratio

Ratio	Use for	Notes
9:16 vertical	TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, Snapchat, Meta Stories.	The dominant ratio for social-first paid media. Most native, most mobile-first.
1:1 square	Instagram feed, Facebook feed.	Safest bet when you don’t know exactly where it’ll run; works on most placements.
4:5 portrait	Instagram and Meta in-feed.	Mobile-optimized while taking more screen than 1:1. Often the highest-performing ratio on Meta.
16:9 horizontal	YouTube pre-roll and in-feed, Meta in-feed desktop.	Use when the placement is wide-screen. Less mobile-optimized.

Quality

Higher quality means more polished output and a larger file. Lower quality generates faster and is fine for testing concepts. Use the higher tiers for the ad you’re actually shipping; use lower tiers when you’re iterating on ten variations to pick the best one.

Duration

Duration	Use for	Notes
6 seconds	Top-of-feed YouTube bumpers, attention-only ads.	No room for a story arc — just hook and product.
10–15 seconds	TikTok, Reels, Shorts native.	The sweet spot for social-first ads. Hook + product + call to action.
15–30 seconds	Most standard ad placements, Meta in-feed.	Room for a small narrative — problem, product, payoff.
30–60 seconds	Longer-form story ads, YouTube pre-roll skippable.	Use when the product needs explanation, or for emotional storytelling.

Match duration to platform expectations. A 60-second ad on TikTok is fighting the platform; a 6-second ad on YouTube pre-roll wastes the opportunity. Pick the length the platform’s audience is used to, then earn longer attention by being good.

6.6 — Adding products and avatars

Products and avatars are the two assets that make an ad recognizably yours instead of recognizably generic. The Product and Avatar buttons (with the + icons) at the bottom of the workspace are where you load them in.

Adding a product

You have three options for products:

Upload your own. For any product where visual fidelity matters — your packaging, branding, specific SKU. Almost always the right choice for real campaigns.
Choose from the library. For placeholder concepts, mockups, or to see what a category looks like before you finalize your own.
Reuse from a previous project. Products uploaded in one project are available across your workspace — load once, use in every variation you test.

Upload at least three angles of your product: front, side or 3/4, and a close-up detail. The system composes much better ads when it has multiple references to work from.

Adding an avatar

The avatar is the person (real or AI) who appears in your ad. You have three options:

Upload your own. If you have a creator, founder, or model whose face represents your brand, use a real photo. The highest-trust option.
Generate one. Create an AI avatar from a description. Useful for a consistent face across many ads when you don’t have a real person available.
Pick from the library. Choose a pre-built avatar. Fastest path. Best for testing concepts before investing in a custom avatar.

Casting your avatar

Pick the avatar that matches your target customer — not the one that looks the most attractive. A 35-year-old skincare brand doesn’t sell better with a 20-year-old face; it sells better with a 35-year-old face. Your audience needs to see themselves in the ad, not aspire to be someone else.

Once you find an avatar that performs, reuse it across the entire campaign. Consistency builds recognition; recognition builds trust; trust drives clicks. The same avatar across 10 ads is far more powerful than 10 different avatars across 10 ads.

6.1 — Writing your prompt (and the @ shortcut)

The @ shortcut

A simple prompt template that works

6.2 — Choosing the right format

The seven ad formats

6.3 — Picking a hook style

What a hook actually does

The hook archetypes in the Hook menu

6.4 — Choosing a scene setting

Setting categories you’ll see in the menu

6.5 — Output settings (aspect, quality, duration)

Aspect ratio

Quality

Duration

6.6 — Adding products and avatars

Adding a product

Adding an avatar

Casting your avatar

​6.1 — Writing your prompt (and the @ shortcut)

​The @ shortcut

​A simple prompt template that works

​6.2 — Choosing the right format

​The seven ad formats

​6.3 — Picking a hook style

​What a hook actually does

​The hook archetypes in the Hook menu

​6.4 — Choosing a scene setting

​Setting categories you’ll see in the menu

​6.5 — Output settings (aspect, quality, duration)

​Aspect ratio

​Quality

​Duration

​6.6 — Adding products and avatars

​Adding a product

​Adding an avatar

​Casting your avatar

6.1 — Writing your prompt (and the @ shortcut)

The @ shortcut

A simple prompt template that works

6.2 — Choosing the right format

The seven ad formats

6.3 — Picking a hook style

What a hook actually does

The hook archetypes in the Hook menu

6.4 — Choosing a scene setting

Setting categories you’ll see in the menu

6.5 — Output settings (aspect, quality, duration)

Aspect ratio

Quality

Duration

6.6 — Adding products and avatars

Adding a product

Adding an avatar

Casting your avatar