The anatomy of 2024 BFCM ad winners & what we can learn from them🎯

We looked at 3 BFCM YouTube ads from last year by 3 different brands you may or may not have heard of just yet - Manscaped, Paleovalley, and Mous; we broke down what made each one dominate during the most competitive week in performance marketing.

Let’s dive right into it!

🎅 Manscaped – The “Gift Logic” formula

Let’s take a look at this ad by the brand Manscaped first:

With over $330k in adspend, Manscaped’s “Ho Ho Hold Up” campaign was the perfect hybrid of humor and utility.

The ad wastes zero time - it opens on a charismatic spokesperson yelling the sale headline straight into the camera:

“Hold up - Manscaped’s 25% off Black Friday sale is happening right now!”

From there, it blends rapid-fire product closeups, listing all the product features and qualities, different testimonial and quick Santa-themed inserts.

The ad is also pretty face-paced and has quite an uplighting tone to it, which adds to the sense of urgency.

Each visual reinforces the gift angle: “make him feel truly valuable” - merging emotional justification with product utility.

Key structural insight:

• Fast intro → Value stacking → Offer lock-in.

• 3 mini product demos (trimmer, shaver, compact device) create perceived bundle depth.

• “Free gifts” act as the final push, tying urgency to generosity.

🔑 Key takeaway: For BFCM, urgency without narrative is just noise. Manscaped gave viewers a reason why now through emotional gifting, logic, and tangible proof.

🧬 Paleovalley – The “Educated Buyer” funnel

With over $60k in ad spend, this Paleovalley ad turned a dry supplement pitch into a surprisingly compelling sales explainer:

The ad opens with bold motion text: “BIGGEST SALE EVER” - then transitions into a direct educational structure:

“Here are 5 reasons why you need to start taking Paleovalley’s grass-fed whey protein every day.”

Each reason serves as a conversion layer:

1. Purity claim: “No antibiotics, no hormones.”

2. New mechanism: “Contains colostrum for gut and immune support.”

3. Digestibility benefit: “Includes enzymes for absorption.”

4. Processing choice: “Whey concentrate, not isolate.”

5. Sensory payoff: “Chocolate or vanilla that actually taste amazing.”

You get not only 35% off, but a free mystery gift FOR LIFE as well.

The 35% discount + “mystery gift for life” seals the deal by adding intrigue and exclusivity.

🔑 Key takeaway: For health and supplement brands, rational credibility drives emotional excitement. Paleovalley’s ad sold science like a lifestyle, not a lecture.

📱 Mous – The “Luxury Proof” blueprint

With just over $42k in adspend, Mous’s cinematic split-screen drop test proves how storytelling and positioning can elevate a discount ad into a brand film:

The opening is pure kinetic theater - a split screen showing a phone and a backpack falling from a big height and being left in perfectly fine condition, which demonstrates the product’s quality. 

The ad goes on to point out why the viewer would even need their product and what makes it stand out.

Our products really are premium. Here’s why.

The narrative leans on engineering and craftsmanship:

• “Army of in-house engineers.”

• “38-part phone cases.”

• “Aerofoam technology made with intelligent hydrogen bonds.”

Every frame reaffirms quality and intent - the ad reframes price as integrity.

The ad closes with:

“If you've always wanted to get your hands on a Mous product and see what all the fuss is about, then why not do it when they're up to 70% off mouse.”

A chance to get a high-quality, pricey product you’ve been curious about - this is framed as the perfect opportunity you wouldn’t want to miss out on, right?

🔑 Key takeaway: When your brand is premium, lean into rational transparency. Mous doesn’t discount quality - it magnifies it.

🧭 The common thread: Sale ≠ Strategy

Across all three, the winning formula wasn’t just “big discount.”

It was a sale storytelling -  each brand tied its offer to a meaning:

• Manscaped: urgency + emotional gifting

• Paleovalley: education + health authority

• Mous: craftsmanship + price justification

They didn’t just announce deals, they earned the sale moment.

🧠 Here are a few tips on what to ‘steal’ in 2025:

1. Open on value, not product. Your “why now” beats your “what.”

2. Stack credibility visually. Macro shots, mechanisms, side-by-side comparisons.

3. Use the sale to amplify identity, not dilute it.

4. Every BFCM frame should scream: “This is the moment.”

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