"Face-timing Your Friend" – The Most Relatable Ad Style for DTC Brands

👋 Hey friends,

Today we’re diving into one of the most powerful but misunderstood creative styles: “Face-timing your friend.”

This isn’t just casual filming. It’s a style built on trust, immediacy, and emotional closeness – and when done right, it absolutely crushes on Meta.

Let’s break it down 👇

🎥 The Creative Style: "Face-timing Your Friend"

When you watch the best examples, it feels like a real person casually showing you something over a call. There’s no studio setup, no polished branding – just raw, relatable energy.

✅ Real behaviors:

• Filming in personal spaces (bedrooms, living rooms, mirrors)

• Natural voiceover ("Okay, let me show you…")

• Showing real use (zippers, pockets, straps) live on camera

• Using expressions like "I love this," "Seriously, it’s the best," etc.

• Moving naturally with the camera – zooming closer, stepping back, touching the product

It’s intimate. It feels unscripted, even when it’s carefully planned.

✍️ Prompt: Generate a "Face-time Style" Script with AI

Here’s a ready-to-use AI prompt for building your own version. But don’t over-script it –the beauty of this ad lies in its organic and natural feel.

You are a DTC creative strategist.  Write a casual, natural-sounding script for a short video ad that feels like I'm Face-timing my best friend to show them a product I love.   

Product: [Insert Product Name]   
Main Features: [Insert Key Features]   
Main Benefit: [Insert the real-life outcome]   
Tone: Friendly, casual, unscripted  

The script should: 
- Start with excitement (“I have to show you this!”) 
- Walk through 2–3 product features casually 
- End with a strong positive statement (“You need this too!”)

🖼 How to Turn This Video into an Image Ad

Even if you shoot a raw, face-time style video, you can easily turn it into an image ad:

• Take a freeze-frame where the person is smiling or holding the product close

• Overlay a casual quote pulled from the video, like: "Seriously obsessed with this mini bag 😍"

• Add a subtle CTA: “Tap to see why everyone’s switching”

Boom: now you have a native-feeling image that still vibes personal and authentic – perfect for Stories, Reels placement, or Feed.

🧠 Example-by-Example Analysis

Preview ad 1 here

• What’s Good: Natural smiling, casual home environment, easy product demo with captions.

• What Could Be Better: Add a short selfie narration or voiceover to boost relatability even more.

• How to Apply: Don’t rely only on captions – layer in natural speech if you can.

Preview ad 2 here

• What’s Good: Friendly, natural voice explaining the bag features like talking to a friend. Good focus on practical benefits.

• What Could Be Better: Camera angles are a little rigid. Looser movement would feel even more authentic.

• How to Apply: Script lightly, but let the speaker move, gesture, and touch the product naturally.

Preview ad 3 here

• What’s Good: Feels truly like a real response to a friend’s DM. Screen-record style is brilliant for believability.

• What Could Be Better: Lighting and framing could be a bit better to keep viewer attention longer.

• How to Apply: Answer real customer questions in a casual reply format – don’t overthink it!

Preview ad 4 here

• What’s Good: Perfect Face-timing energy. Speaking naturally, showing off favorite features. Great movement between product close-ups and wider framing.

• What Could Be Better: Could call out one super-specific use case (e.g., "Perfect for hiking days too!") to widen appeal.

• How to Apply: Tell a mini story – "I use this for my camera gear too" - more relatable = more conversions.

✅ Quick Implementation Checklist: "Face-timing Your Friend" Style

• 🎥 Film in a real environment (bedroom, living room, car – no studios!)

• 🗣️ Speak casually like you're Face-timing a friend ("Okay, you HAVE to see this...")

• 👜 Show the product live – touching it, opening it, using it naturally

• 👀 Move with the camera – walk closer, pull back, tilt slightly (no stiff tripod shots)

• 💬 React in real time – smile, laugh, gasp – real emotion sells better than perfect lines

• 🎯 End with a strong feeling – “I’m obsessed with this” or “You seriously need this too”

Pro Tip: Don’t rehearse too much. First takes often feel the most natural – and usually perform the best.

👋 Wrapping Up

That's the "Face-timing your friend" style – simple, human, highly persuasive. It’s not about polishing – it’s about connecting.