# Why I'd Choose Founder Ads on Meta Over Everything

Channel: Dara Denney
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToTQBWHm38I
Duration: 13 min
Language: English
Words: 2419
Transcript page: https://viewrankai.com/tools/youtube-transcript/ToTQBWHm38I

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[0:00] If I had to choose one ad creative to run on Meta, Tik Tok, YouTube, or even television, I would choose this one every single time. But here's the problem. A lot of founders refuse to make these ads. Of course, I'm talking about founders ads. They think they need the right equipment, a big production, or even the perfect script. Well, you don't. And we're going to go over everything that you do need today. And

[0:24] if we haven't met, hi, I'm Da Denny. I've spent over $und00 million on meta ads. I'm a former founder myself and I've spent the last 10 years working agency side with some of the biggest brands scaling on Meta. And I actually just had a win with a new client of mine on a founders ad that I helped strategize. So this conversation seems super timely. So let's talk about exactly why these work and how you can make them even if you think you're bad on camera. So why do founders ads work

[0:53] so well? Let's break this down first. And this is something I haven't heard many other advertisers talk about. I think people are inherently really fascinated in entrepreneurship. I mean, think about it. You probably know a business owner, right? Like someone who started an Etsy shop. One of my best friends in high school actually started her own store inside of a mall, which I thought was so cool when I was growing up. There's something really relatable about the founder journey. And that relatability makes a brand feel way less corporate and way more human. Because when you see a founder talking about their product, you have a more human to

[1:29] human connection with them than a humanto brand connection, which is what I feel like a lot of advertising has. It just feels way more genuine and that builds trust. But it gets even better because many founders are creating products or solutions that are solving actual problems that they had. Sarah likely literally cut off the feet of her panty hose because she couldn't find the right shapewear that actually fit her and boom, Spanx was born. And Melanie Perkins couldn't find simple design tools for her college yearbook. So, she created Canva. When founders share these origin stories, it also creates a shared experience with other people who've also

[2:07] experienced that problem. Additionally, people remember stories way more than they remember facts. That's why you can recite Goldilocks and the Three Bears from when you were five, but you don't really remember what was said during a marketing webinar last week. Our brains are literally hardwired for narrative. And what's interesting is that founders ads aren't some unique new trend. It's a triedand-true format that's been crushing for decades. Frank Purdue was one of the first CEOs to star in his own print ads back in the 1970s with the it takes a tough man to make a tender chicken campaign. Dade Thomas also made Wendy's feel super authentic by showing

[2:45] up in literally hundreds of ads. And then Colonel Sanders and Orville Renbacher became the literal faces of their brands long before anyone ever dreamed of Tik Tok. What worked in print and TV works even better now because people are starved for human connection in this AI everything world that we now live in. Now sure it would be really easy for me to say, "Hey, make a founders ad." But the script or the format is something that a lot of people have questions are. So, I'm going to share with you my top favorite founders formats that you can use. There are a few different ones. And the first one is

[3:18] the founder problem solution ad. I think this is the most quintessential founders ad that there is, which essentially just tells the story of a problem that the founder had which led to the creation of their product or service. A lot of people also consider these VSSL or video sales letter type of ad creatives. Sometimes they're on the shorter end of things. And I will say a lot of times these ad creatives end up being a little bit longer than some of your more typical ad creatives. I've seen them at a minimum anywhere from 35 seconds long all the way up to 2 or 3 minutes long

[3:51] because yeah, sometimes there's a lot to go over, but it's really worth it if you have an engaging story because that's really what people connect to. And another thing I see a lot of people get tripped up over is, hey, where should I record this? And a lot of times people are just recording it in their homes, in their kitchen, in their bedroom, literally anywhere. But I have found if you add B-roll that you might have on hand to be something that really helps

[4:17] to make the ad creative more engaging. This ad creative right here is actually using a little bit of stock footage as B-roll to help tell this founder story. And I personally use Story Blocks if I'm in need of this type of content. They are longtime friends of this channel and they're also sponsoring today's video. Storyblocks has millions of instant video clips, images, and templates that don't read AI slop. Now, something I really like doing is looking up clips that communicate deep human emotion like pain, fear, love, connection. These are really great in founders ads particularly. And the best part is it's 100% legal to use even in ads, unlike

[4:55] some AI tools. To get unlimited downloads for one flat rate, check out Storyblocks at storyblocks.com/dadenny or click the link in the description. Now, format number two is what I like to call the objection handler ad. And I actually find this ad creative to probably be the easiest to make because you are simply looking through the questions that potential customers most frequently ask or the most common reasons why people say they aren't going to buy your product and simply having your founder answer to those common objections. One of the most common objections that I see founders answer to is the price point or why something appears to be so expensive. So, in this

[5:32] really popular oats overnight ad, they actually break down the cost of making their product. And I know that this ad creative actually performed really well for them for years and they also iterated on it to death. And I've also personally worked with a few brands who did ad creative handling the objection of price and it's worked really really well. The third format is a product demo. No one is better suited to actually give a demonstration of your product than the founder itself. So that's a really easy one that you could also try. And then the fourth one that I really like doing and have seen a lot of

[6:07] success with is just pure educational content. I sometimes think that founders are just the most well suited to giving certain education on a problem or even the solution specifically or even just the background history or information that relates to your product. So, this is one that I would say if you've tested the other three quite a bit and you want to try something a little bit different and unique, try going with more of that educational angle. Now, I've seen founders do this in more of a listical style, some in more of a whiteboard style, but both of these are really, really worth trying if you want to get

[6:48] something new in the mix. Now, the next format that I'll mention is not so much of a different strategic format, but more of a production format. Now, I have personally created some high production founder ads that have worked really, really well for brands, and I'd say this is not where you need to start. I would say try and get some traction from some of the more UGC or creators type ads

[7:13] that you're just using your iPhone for. But if you've seen a lot of success out of those, then investing in a bigger production for a founders ad is what I would consider to be a high confidence type of shoot. Now, I will say one of the big differences that I've had in strategizing for this type of shoot is that instead of giving the founder a type of script or bullet point things to hit on, I actually like conducting these high production shoots in the form of an interview. So it'll be anywhere from a 30 minute to hour-long interview where I will really dig deep into the history

[7:51] and the why of the product and really try to zone in on those pain points. I've just found that by doing more of an interview style with founders that it allows them to open up a lot more and honestly just get a lot more emotion from them. Something worth try. Additionally, final one for format is sales announcements like Black Friday, Cyber Monday or product launches are really, really great to be told from the POV of a founder. So, just something else to consider. And then finally, how to make founders ads, even if you're

[8:24] camera shy. So, here's what you need. You're going to need an iPhone or an Android. It doesn't really matter which one, as long as it's something that takes pretty good video for social media. Now, the settings on the iPhone that I use when creating founders ads or just really any type of creator content is right here. We're going to be doing a 4K shot with 30 frames per second. And I'm also going to turn the HD off. And I say it would be a nice to have to have some great lighting. Honestly, natural lighting is probably going to be the best. But if you want to try a ring

[8:56] light or one of those clip-on lights, that's absolutely something that would be a nice to have. More importantly though, I'd say a better nice to have would be the microphone. It's actually a lot better for you to make sure that the audio is really crisp and clear. You can buy these for $9 off Amazon. But again, I've filmed tons of founder ads without any additional audio. So, this is something that you really are not

[9:20] limited to when it comes to equipment. Next thing to consider, too, is the setting, which really it can be done anywhere. And I'd say keep it simple at first. Think of your office. Think of your home. Think of maybe the place where people are experiencing your product to begin with. Here's also a list of guidelines that I always give founders and creators when making this type of content. This is very, very important to follow. I've also seen warehouses or behindthe-scenes content of the manufacturing process to work really well. And if you want more of a wild card one, cars are also really great to film in. I actually recently

[9:59] did an interview with Cody, CEO of Jones Road, and he said that for every time there's a product launch, they actually always have Bobby do at least one ad in the car because it works so well. Now, the final thing that I want to talk about is the script, the structure, how you're actually going to put the story together. This is so, so important. Now, I have everything listed out right here so that you can follow this exact structure. I even have another version where you can just simply do it Mad Lib style. But I want to break each of these sections down step by step so that you

[10:31] can actually see what it looks like in action for other brands. So the first thing you're going to do is a personal introduction. Now it's really interesting. I've talked with a good friend of mine, Barry Hot, several times. And every time he sees these founders ads, he's like, "No one cares about what your name is. Get it out of here." I've actually done this test recently and I found that by a founder saying, "Hey, my name is I'm the CEO and founder of XYZ." It actually performs better. So this is one that I would absolutely absolutely test. After that, you're going to state the personal problem that you had or essentially your

[11:03] reason for why your product exists in the first place. And I'd say the more concrete specific examples you can give here, the better. For instance, take a look at this one example that Lulu used in her founders ad. This is actually one that I helped her to produce a few years ago. I know I've used it as an example several times in this channel, but it

[11:23] worked really, really well for them. This line right here is the one that we thought emotionally resonated the most, which is why we used it. But it also just really shows that problem super clearly and super viscerally. The next thing you want to detail is the turning point. What made you realize that your problem was not something that you wanted to deal with anymore. This could

[11:45] also be considered the breaking point. You can also explain why other things that you tested out didn't work as well. And then you're going to introduce your product or service as the solution. And here you can also make sure to highlight two or three key benefits or differentiators on why you're different from other solutions that are out there. Then you can add some proof points, some testimonials, maybe some statistics or facts and figures like how many customers you've had. And then finally, your call to action. I like to use a soft CTA here. Also, I made up a brand right here that I use this exact same

[12:19] flow and format for. And honestly, this is a great ad. I think that if anyone follows the script structure or format, you will come out with a top performer. And that's it. I am so curious to see your founders ads and so excited. Be sure to send me some via DM and I can give you personal feedback on it. Okay,

[12:39] see you guys next week. Love you.

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