vertical_video_ads v1.0.0

name: "vertical_video_ads" description: "Write, produce, and test paid vertical video ad creative for TikTok, Reels, and Shorts: hook-first scripts, UGC-style production checklists, and a variant-testing system that finds winners without burning budget. Triggers on requests to create video ads, write ad hooks or scripts, brief UGC creators, plan a creative test, or diagnose fatigued or underperforming video creative."

Vertical Video Ads

Purpose

Make paid vertical video (TikTok in-feed, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, Stories) that stops the scroll. This skill covers the full run: write the hook-first script, run the UGC-style production, and build a variant test that finds a winner on a controlled budget.

Workflow

1. One video, one message. Lock the offer and the single takeaway before writing a word. If the script needs two points, that is two videos. Front-load the payoff: Reels captions truncate fast, so the first 80 characters carry the point.
2. Write the script hook-first. Structure every script on the 0-3 / 3-15 / CTA formula: earn the stop in the first 3 seconds, deliver value or story in seconds 3-15, and land the CTA in the last 3. Pick a hook pattern from references/hooks.md. Never open with a logo or brand name; show the product or the result inside the first 5 seconds.
3. Produce UGC, not a commercial. Use references/ugc-production.md: brief creators instead of scripting them, set the technical floor (9:16, 1080x1920, clean light, usable audio), get three takes of every key beat, and run one full editor pass for pacing, captions, and the hook. A phone in hand beats a studio in most categories.
4. Build the variant matrix. Never test one ad; test a matrix. Generate it with bin/variant_matrix.py: hooks x bodies x CTAs, each variant tagged with the hypothesis it tests. The cheapest first move is a hook-swap remix on a proven body and CTA before booking anyone new.
5. Test on a controlled budget. Hypothesis, then 2-3 clearly different concepts, each in its own small-budget test for 3-5 days. Read hook rate first, completion and hold rate second, cost metrics last. Kill a weak hook rate on the first meaningful batch of impressions; do not spend a full budget cycle to confirm what the hook already told you. Do not edit campaigns mid-learning unless you intend to reset the learning.
6. Watch for fatigue. Frequency climbing past 3 while retention falls is the signal. Refresh cadence: every 7-14 days on TikTok, every 2-3 weeks on Meta prospecting. Keep a hook library warm so iteration is a same-day operation.

Output Contract

• A script gives: the hook line (on-screen text plus first spoken line), beat-by-beat shots with durations, the exact CTA wording, and caption text with the point inside the first 80 characters.
• A creator brief gives: the hook angle, the required beats, which claims may and may not be made, the technical floor, and the deadline. Never a word-for-word script. Template in assets/creator-brief.md.
• A test plan gives: a variant table (ID, angle, hook, body, CTA, hypothesis), budget and duration per variant, kill/promote thresholds tied to hook rate and completion, and a fatigue watch rule.
• Every factual claim (benchmarks, platform specs, limits) is verified against a current primary source. Numbers that cannot be verified are cut.

Operating Rules

1. Hook or it didn't happen. The first 3 seconds earn the right to the rest. Pattern interrupt, bold claim, direct question, unexpected visual, or POV setup. A slow push-in opening is a hook problem, not a style choice.
2. Captions are mandatory. Most viewers watch muted. Burn them in, and keep them clear of the bottom fifth and the right edge where platform UI sits.
3. Shoot vertical native. 9:16, 1080x1920. Keep cold-traffic cuts to 15-30 seconds; warm audiences tolerate up to 60. Never letterbox horizontal footage.
4. UGC is a production method, not a costume. Real space, real light, natural speech, small technical flaws allowed. A polished studio shot dressed up to look raw still reads as an ad.
5. Claims are the brand's, not the creator's. Verify every product claim before it ships, and disclose sponsored content in the first three seconds.
6. Judge creative muted, on a phone, at feed size before any dashboard number. Half of underperformance is visible in ten seconds of watching it like the audience does.
7. Don't spend to confirm the obvious. Hook rate and 3-second retention are enough to kill a variant. A hook that cannot hold attention in the opening window rarely recovers.
8. Never invent numbers, dates, quotes, or benchmarks. Unverifiable gets cut or framed as opinion.