🤫 Model, don’t rip: Here’s how to swipe winning ads without looking like a knockoff

But how to properly model ads and not fall into the trap of being an ad thief, you may ask?

Let’s dive right into it.

Why advertisers (often) screw this up

Most people don’t model - they mimic. They see an ad that’s clearly working (views, comments, signs of scale) and try to “adapt” it.

But all they do is swap in their product shot, change two words in the headline, and call it a day.

Here’s what happens next:

• The context is wrong. The original was built for a different audience, price point, or offer structure.

• You inherit hidden flaws. Maybe the hook is already burning out. Maybe the targeting did 80% of the work. You’ll never know.

• You look like a follower. To a seasoned buyer, it’s obvious you’re running “last week’s winner” from another brand.

The right way to model ads

If you want to use modeling as a scaling lever - without getting sloppy - run every “inspired by” creative through this 5-step filter.

1. Strip it to the mechanics

Don’t ask “What did they say?” - ask “What did they do?”

• Is the hook pattern interrupt, a curiosity gap, or a blunt claim?

• Is the structure PAS (Problem-Agitate–Solve), testimonial-led, or demo-first?

• What’s the CTA style - soft invite, hard scarcity, or value stack?

Break it down like an engineer, not a poet.

2. Use our ad spy tool (VidTao)

Don’t just guess what’s working — study proven winners at scale.

VidTao lets you legally spy on over 23 million ads (and counting!), plus their landing pages and relevant performance statistics.

(🤫 You can sign up for a free VidTao trial here.)

Why it matters:

• You see current ads still spending, not just archived screenshots.

• You can identify hooks, formats, and funnels that are driving budget right now.

• You get the full funnel picture — ad → landing page → offer.

Pro move: When you find an ad in VidTao that’s been running for months, don’t copy it — dissect it. Use the rest of this process to rebuild the mechanics in your own brand voice.

3. Translate the hook to your market

A hook works because it connects pain to curiosity in under 3 seconds.

Keep the function of the hook, but rewrite it in the native language of your buyer - their slang, their metrics, their anxieties.

• Example:
  
  If the original hook says, “I wasted $20K on ads before I found this,”
  → A SaaS founder version could be: “I spent 3 months chasing ARR before I fixed this.”

4. Rebuild the proof

Never inherit someone else’s proof asset - you’ll just look like an imposter.

Swap it for:

• Your own data or case studies

• Product-specific demos

• Founder/creator POV moments unique to you

If you can’t supply better proof than the ad you’re modeling… You shouldn’t be modeling it yet.

5. Change the creative vehicle

If they ran it as a UGC selfie cam, test it as a lo-fi founder rant.

If they used static overlays, test dynamic captions with movement.

Same mechanic - different execution. Keeps you in the same strategy lane while looking original.

6. Test in your funnel

Don’t just check if a hook or format “fits” your product — use it as a chance to study how other funnels in your market (and outside your market) are selling.

Look at:

• Front-end positioning: How they frame the offer to grab attention and get the first purchase.

• Post-purchase monetization: What upsells, cross-sells, and bundles do they use to boost AOV?

• Retention plays: Email/SMS sequences, subscription nudges, and loyalty hooks that stretch LTV.

Studying winning funnels this way gives you two advantages:

1. You see what’s working right now in terms of messaging and structure.

2. You get proven ideas for adding profit levers beyond the first click.

👉 Our friends at Funnel of the Week analyzed 5 order bump "Levels" that can boost your AOV. You can read all about it here.

Pro modeling = Pattern recognition, not plagiarism

The best founders aren’t “creative geniuses” - they’re pattern hunters.

They build swipe files not to steal ads, but to spot recurring mechanics across industries:

• The angles that stop thumbs

• The narratives that lower CPAs

• The structures that keep fatigue at bay longer

Then they deploy those mechanics with their own market insight, speed, and proof.

All pretty simple, actually, right? However, what better way to understand all of it even better if not using examples.

Let’s now do a breakdown of an actual ad, and then analyze how to remodel it for a different market, shall we?

Ad breakdown: Mechanics of the body pod ad

Take a look at this body pod ad by Hume Health…

…let’s now do a breakdown, part by part:

1. Hook

"Product I would recommend as a 40-year-old fitness trainer…"

• Type: Authority + personal endorsement.

• Function: Leverages credibility upfront (age + profession) to position as a trusted voice.

• Strength: Builds immediate trust for a fitness audience.

• Weakness: Not a pattern interrupt - starts calm, could get skipped in a scroll-heavy feed.

2. Product intro & demo

• Introduces “Body Pod” and shows it physically in a gym.

• Explains core benefit (“Advanced body analysis”) and use cases: build muscle, lose fat, reverse metabolic age.

• Mechanic: Problem-solving device + aspirational benefit stacking.

• Strength: Multiple benefits are packed quickly.

• Weakness: Benefits are broad - not drilled into one high-tension pain point.

3. Proof & differentiator

• “Scans your whole body in 20 seconds.”

• “Six times more accurate than a smart scale.”

• Visuals of handles + scanning process.

• Mechanic: Demonstration + superiority claim over common alternative.

• Strength: Strong measurable differentiator (“6x more accurate”) - easy to clip for retargeting.

• Weakness: No social proof or real results shown (e.g., before/after scan data).

4. CTA

• “If you’re on a health program or thinking of starting one, get the Body Pod. 10/10 would recommend.”

• Mechanic: Broad invite + personal rating.

• Strength: Inclusive - hits current and potential customers.

• Weakness: Lacks urgency, scarcity, or a unique offer to act now.

Rebuild for a different market (Example: SaaS tool for Amazon sellers)

Hook:

Original: “Product I would recommend as a 40-year-old fitness trainer…”
Rebuild: “Tool I’d recommend after managing $2M+ in Amazon ad spend…”

• Keep credibility + authority, but tailor to niche-specific currency (spend managed, years in market, # of SKUs scaled).

Product intro & demo:

Original: “Body Pod… uses advanced body analysis to…”
Rebuild: “AdShield uses real-time bid analysis to cut wasted spend, boost profitable keywords, and protect margins.”

• Keep function + 3 benefit stack, but make benefits ultra-specific and high-stakes for Amazon sellers.
  

Proof & differentiator:

Original: “Scans your whole body in 20 seconds… 6x more accurate…”
Rebuild: “Audits your entire PPC account in 30 seconds - and finds 5–10% wasted spend that most tools miss.”

• Keep speed + measurable superiority format, replace with proof relevant to SaaS.

CTA:

Original: “If you’re on a health program… get the Body Pod.”
Rebuild: “If you’re running Amazon ads - or even thinking about it - run your free audit today.
Most sellers find $1K–$5K in wasted spend on the first scan.”

• Add specificity + urgency so it’s act-now friendly.

Pattern to swipe

1. Credibility frame hook (I am X → so I recommend Y)

2. Product name + core function

3. 3 benefits stacked (tie each to a core pain or desire)

4. Speed/accuracy claim vs. Common alternative

5. Inclusive CTA (both current & potential users) → Upgrade with scarcity/offer

Bottom line

Ripping ads makes you look cheap, while modeling ads makes you look like you’ve seen the game before.

One burns your credibility. The other builds you a creative system that compounds.

The difference?

Effort in the teardown, discipline in the rebuild!

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