Run the flying-prop, bribe, rumors-are-true, being-lied-to and data-stack ad frameworks

1. The flying prop

Why it works. It began as a joke — someone on the team threw a prop at the person on camera during a recording — that was then taken seriously. Things that move generally beat things that do not, and real things that move often beat computer-made movement, so ads like this basically always work; they probably deserve more use. The whole ad runs on curiosity: a chain of open loops with only one way to close them, which is taking the next step. The chain in the example: the prop, then the money spent on the event, then a birthday, then a secret to be given away. Everything aims at making people want to come and see what happens, which serves both goals of the campaign — getting people to register and getting them to show up. To use ads like this well, lean on curiosity.

Opening seconds. A prop flying through the air: movement plus a prop.

How to apply it.

• Catch a flying prop. Start with your talent catching something in mid-air while looking into the camera.
• Make a quick joke that ties the prop to your offer — a one-liner linking the prop to your product or service.
• Pile on concrete reasons to come. Mention the time put in, the money spent, the favors called in, so viewers see how much you have invested in making it great, and tie that investment to what they will get. It stands in for its value. Make it a big deal to you, so it is a big deal to them; the stakes are a large part of that.
• Hint at a big secret and leave the loop open. Tease a bonus nobody has seen, available only to people who take the next step. Holding back the details keeps the tension high until they act; once they have acted, you can open more loops to move them through the process.
• Keep a stock of props. A shed or a storage closet full of them; you will be surprised how often you use them once you make ads and content regularly. Whenever something catches your attention, buy it if you can: it will probably catch someone else's, and when it does it will earn much more than it cost.

2. The bribe, with a mystery gift

Why it works. Its hook is the same one used for the bribe on SOP 116, where it sold an unrelated product in a different market. Two unrelated products and businesses, and that is the point: these structures work regardless of industry. Model them; they will be reused as long as they work. The shared thread is curiosity and open loops: plenty of both, with stakes, to drive the click, and then the page does its job and converts the traffic.

Opening seconds. The person on camera pointing straight at the viewer, asking permission for their attention.

How to apply it.

• Tell them what you want. Open with the pattern-interrupting question, asking quickly for their email or other detail, so viewers know at once they are trading contact details for something.
• Tell them what they will get in exchange. Promise to send something valuable, framed as outrageously valuable to anyone in your niche.
• Explain why it is valuable. Lay out every cost you took on to create it — the prototypes, the savings, what it cost you personally, the years it consumed. If you can't say exactly what it is (to keep the curiosity), talk more about your investment as a stand-in for what they will gain. If you can talk about other parts of it directly, do.
• Stress that the thing you are promoting is a big deal. This is where hype actually works: the biggest event of the season, and so on. If your investment backs it up, people start calling it that themselves.
• Make the free thing mysterious and valuable through comparison. Rather than naming a small freebie, give a range between two known items, one of low value and one of high value — more than a gift card, less than a luxury car — then say that someone, some group or everyone will get it. People automatically picture something toward the higher end, and vagueness lets each person's imagination write the perfect version for them; you will not beat anyone's imagination. So refuse to give details, and leave an open loop that only the action you want can close.

The winning video was also turned into still-image ads, and they won too: remixing in practice, as on SOP 113.

3. The rumors are true

Why it works. It makes your product important because other people are talking about it. It works on curiosity, and it leaves people feeling left out — left out of something important — which moves them to act. Good ads do two things: they get attention, then they get action. So one part of the ad wins attention (the importance), and another raises the benefit and lowers the cost of acting (other people are doing it).

Opening seconds. The on-screen subtitle is the visual hook.

How to apply it.

• Tell them other people want what you have. Open by confirming the rumors: your product is finally coming out. The hook is said to work in any market.
• Tell them what they get for taking the next step: an over-the-top gift, and only the tip of the iceberg, because there is a lot more for everyone who takes the step you want.
• Explain why it is valuable: your personal investment in iterations, hours and money. If you can show the receipts — proof you really spent all that — they will believe its value far more. Add what it can help them do, or the outcome it leads to, without giving it away.
• Add curiosity. Tease a further secret project with no name, and give a value range as in section 2, so the only way to learn more is to take the next step.
• Try a visual call to action. In the example the call to action was not spoken at all; the end screen was the call to action. It is worth experimenting with, especially in remixes.
• Make several versions in several formats. Once a hook wins, turn the ad into still images as well; those won too. Simple is not the same as ineffective; winning is hard enough without making it complicated.

4. You're being lied to

Why it works. Another take on the classics: old way against new way, problem against solution, us against them. The classics are classics because they work. It likely also worked because of the movement — walking round corners at pace, especially toward the camera, works very well, and the confrontational style suited the confrontational hook. Most people find walking and talking hard, so it is rarer to see done well; try it. Ads in which the person on camera moves almost always do better.

Opening seconds. The camera coming quickly round a corner; the person on camera showing urgency; a fast cut to large text on a board, then a tear-away.

How to apply it.

• Walk toward the camera aggressively and tell them they are being lied to. Challenge their belief: look into the lens, come round a corner, and open with the accusation.
• Expose the old way and present the new. Throw rocks at the old way (the lie), then give them the new way (the truth) — for example, that building something does not bring customers, but telling people about it does.
• Show proof the new way works: math, authority, social proof, or any other kind.
• Share your selfish reason why. People trust those who share their biases openly, even when that bias runs against the viewer's own interest.
• Promise fast results. Not fast results as such: explain how much time they save, or how much you compress for them. Reframe how long the problem would take them to solve alone, and present that as the speed they are getting.
• Tell them what to do next to learn the new way. Flash large text on screen that tears away to show one button, and tell them to tap it to learn the new way. One step releases the tension you built.

5. The data stack

Why it works. Numbers at the start of an ad, especially big numbers, seem to work every time they are used; you have probably seen the theme at least a few times across these frameworks. Having half of something written on the board adds curiosity, because people want to see it finished, and it shows off the work that went into the thing. The other themes repeat as well: authority, social proof, curiosity, scarcity, urgency and a call to action. To make it work, find and list every striking statistic about your product or service. With that list, you can make many versions of the ad for very little effort, and saying a winning thing in several ways gives you several winners.

Opening seconds. An open loop: the numbers already half written on the board.

How to apply it.

• Tell them you are about to blow their mind, facing the camera and pointing at a half-finished whiteboard.
• Collect the statistics about your product, project, business or service. Put them all on one sheet and pick the most impressive. Do this before you film.
• List your most impressive numbers, rapid-fire: customers, leads, pounds lost, time saved — proof that real effort went into your main product or service.
• Tell them how many people have already shown interest: leads, preorders, a waiting list, group members. You want them to feel they will be left out.
• Explain the real limits of your product or service. You in all likelihood cannot sell an unlimited amount, so say so: limited hours in a day, a limited number of people you can serve, limited stock. It raises demand by cutting the supply people perceive, which creates scarcity.
• Tell them what to do next: fast, clear and easy.

6. The beats of each example, in order

Framework	Beats, as annotated
Flying prop	An unmarked hook, humor, an approximation of value, curiosity, curiosity, reason why, then an unmarked call to action
Bribe with a mystery gift	An unmarked hook, stakes, stakes, stakes, stakes, curiosity, call to action
Rumors are true	Hook, stakes, stakes, good results, curiosity, good results, stakes, then a call to action shown only on screen
Being lied to	An unmarked hook, the old way, the new way, proof, proof, reason why, the new way, speed
Data stack	An unmarked hook, numbers as proof, curiosity, social proof, scarcity, then an unmarked call to action

7. What this page does not decide for you

• How far to push the hype. It works if your investment supports it; no test of when it has gone too far is given. Not established on this page.
• How many loops to open after the first step. You may open more once they act; no number is given. This page gives no figure for it.

8. The checklist

Framework	The step it turns on
Flying prop	A prop caught in mid-air, a joke tying it to the offer, a secret left unrevealed
Bribe with a mystery gift	A value range between two known items, and no details
Rumors are true	Confirm the rumor; show the receipts for what you invested
Being lied to	Walk at the camera, name the lie, show the new way, give one next step
Data stack	Statistics gathered on one sheet before recording; real limits stated
What moving things do	Generally beat things that do not move
Where the selling happens	Curiosity earns the click; the page converts

9. What this page does not cover

The other frameworks are SOP 114, SOP 115 and SOP 116. Turning a winner into still images and other versions is SOP 113. Scarcity and urgency in an offer are SOP 9 — Split scarcity from urgency.

Event planning and registration pages are not covered on this page.