AI Prompts to Crack Competitor Ad Secrets 🕵️‍♀️

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Your AI Spy: Prompts for Basic Competitor Ad Analysis

Hey! So, on Monday, we talked about being an ad detective and using tools like the Meta Ad Library to see what our competitors are up to. That’s super useful! But what happens when you see a competitor's ad while you're just scrolling through YouTube or Instagram, or a friend tells you about one they saw? You might not have a link or a perfect screenshot.

Good news! Your AI assistant can still help you break it down. If you can describe what you remember about an ad, AI can act like your personal spy, helping you figure out its main message and tricks.

Today, we’re looking at simple prompts to feed AI a description of a competitor's ad and get its help figuring out what makes that ad tick.

🔍 The Big Idea: AI Can Analyze Ads You Just Describe!

You don't always need to be digging through an official ad library to start understanding a competitor's ad strategy. Let's say you saw an ad that caught your eye, or maybe you just remember parts of it. If you can describe those parts to an AI tool, it can help you guess the ad's main job: what big idea it was pushing, how it tried to grab your attention, and what good thing it was promising you. It’s like having a super-smart assistant who's good at marketing!

This builds on what we started in Module 3: Competitor & Market Research – every little bit of insight into what others are doing helps us make smarter choices for our own ads.

🧱 The Framework: How to "Tell" Your AI About an Ad You Saw

Imagine you just saw an ad. You want to quickly figure out its game plan. Here’s how you can describe it to your AI so it can help:

Your goal is to give AI enough clues to make good guesses about the ad's:

• Possible Angle: What was the main story or big idea they were trying to get across? (e.g., "This product is the easiest to use," or "This will solve your biggest frustration.")

• Likely Hook: What part of the ad was designed to grab your attention right away?

• Implied Value Proposition: What was the main benefit or good thing they were promising the ad would bring to your life?

Good details to try and remember for your AI description:

• What was the product? (e.g., "A new type of coffee maker.")

• Who was the brand/company? (If you remember it.)

• Where did you see it? (e.g., "A video ad on Facebook," "A banner on a news website," "An Instagram Story.") This gives AI some context.

• What did it look like (visuals)? (e.g., "It showed a person happily waking up and easily making coffee," "Lots of bright, sunny colors," "Quick close-ups of the coffee.")

• What did it say (text or spoken words)? (e.g., "The headline said 'Perfect Coffee, Zero Effort'," "Someone said, 'I used to hate mornings...'")

• What was the feeling or vibe? (e.g., "It felt very energetic and happy," "It was serious and focused on quality," "It was funny.")

• What did they want you to do (if you remember)? (e.g., "There was a button that said 'Shop Now'," "They asked people to visit their website.")

The more of these details you can give, the better your AI can help!

🧠 Real-Life Application: What to Do With AI's Guesses

So, AI gives you its best guess about the ad's strategy. How can you use this?

• Quick Understanding: It helps you quickly see what approach the competitor might be taking with that ad.

• Pattern Spotting: Does this ad sound like other ads you’ve seen from them? Is a pattern emerging in their messaging?

• Market Clues: If competitors are using certain types of messages or hooks often, it might mean those things are working well in your market. This is great information for when you're brainstorming your own unique ad ideas (remember, we get inspired, we don't copy!).

🧰 Bonus: The "Describe This Ad to Me" AI Prompt!

Here’s a prompt you can use. Just fill in the blanks with what you remember about an ad.

Hi AI! I saw an ad from a competitor, [Competitor's Brand Name, if you know it, or "a competitor"], and I'm trying to figure out their strategy. I'll describe the ad from memory.

Here's my description:
* What product was advertised? [e.g., "A new eco-friendly cleaning spray"]
* Where did I see it? [e.g., "It was an image ad in my Instagram feed"]
* What did I see (visuals)? [e.g., "A shiny kitchen counter with the spray bottle next to some fresh lemons and green leaves. Everything looked very clean and natural."]
* What did the text say (headline, key phrases)? [e.g., "The main text said 'Sparkling Clean, Naturally!' and then something about 'No harsh chemicals.'"]
* What was the overall feeling of the ad? [e.g., "It felt very fresh, healthy, and trustworthy."]
* What did they seem to want me to do (call to action)? [e.g., "I think there was a 'Learn More' button."]

Based on my description, can you please help me guess:
1.  What was the main **Angle** (the big idea or approach) of this ad?
2.  What was the likely **Hook** (how they tried to grab attention)?
3.  What **Value Proposition** (the main benefit promised) were they focused on?
4.  What specific **Customer Pain Point** (or desire) were they likely targeting?

Example AI Output (Based on the eco-friendly cleaning spray description):

• Main Angle: The ad probably used a "Natural & Safe" or "Eco-Conscious Choice" angle. It focused on the product being healthy and good for the environment, as well as effective.

• Likely Hook: The clean, fresh visuals (shiny counter, lemons, leaves) combined with the headline "Sparkling Clean, Naturally!" would be the main hook, appealing to people who want effective cleaning without harsh chemicals.

• Value Proposition: The ad promised that you can get a sparkling clean home using a product that is natural, safe (no harsh chemicals), and environmentally friendly.

• Customer Pain Point/Desire: They were likely targeting customers who worry about using harsh chemicals in their homes (pain point) and desire cleaning products that are effective but also safe for their family and the planet (desire).

Pretty cool, right? AI can help you connect the dots even with just a few remembered details!

💣 Value Bomb (Quick Spy Practice!)

The next time you casually see a competitor's ad online or on TV, try to quickly note down just 3 things:

1. What was the product?

2. What was the one thing (visual or words) that stood out most to you?

3. What did they want you to do (if anything)? Even this super short description can be given to AI for a quick first guess at its strategy!

🛠 Tactical Tip (Weekend Ad Detective Mission!)

Over the weekend, if you happen to see an ad from any brand in your industry (it could be anywhere – social media, a website, TV):

1. Try to remember as many details as you can using the checklist from today's framework (product, visuals, words, feeling, etc.).

2. Use the main AI prompt from today’s newsletter with your favorite AI tool.

3. See how well the AI’s analysis matches what you thought about the ad. This is great practice for becoming a quick ad decoder!

👋 Closing

So there you have it! Your AI can be a pretty smart spy assistant, helping you break down competitor ads even if you only remember bits and pieces. It’s all about getting those clues to understand the bigger marketing picture.

Have you ever tried to describe an ad you saw to an AI? What were the results? I’d love to hear about it!

Next week, our Tuesday Strategy session will move us into Module 4: Brand and Offer Research. We'll start looking at how to make sure your unique brand personality really shines in your ads and how to craft offers that get people excited!

Have a fantastic weekend.

To the next one, Tomasz.

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