ad-creative

Overview of ad-creative skill

What the ad-creative skill does

The ad-creative skill helps an agent generate paid ad copy systematically instead of freewriting random variations. It is built for producing platform-specific headlines, descriptions, primary text, and testable creative angles for channels like Google Ads, Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok, and similar paid media formats.

Who should install ad-creative

This ad-creative skill is best for marketers, founders, growth teams, and AI operators who need to:

• create ad copy fast from partial briefs
• turn one offer into multiple testable angles
• adapt copy to platform limits
• iterate on existing ads using performance signals

If your main need is campaign strategy, targeting, or media planning, this is not the whole solution. The skill is narrower: it focuses on creative generation and iteration.

Real job-to-be-done

Most users do not just want “some ad copy.” They need ad assets that are usable in-platform, varied enough for testing, and grounded in audience, offer, and format constraints. The ad-creative skill is useful because it pushes the workflow toward angle-based output and platform-aware structure, which is much closer to how performance teams actually build ads.

What makes this different from a generic prompt

The main differentiators are practical:

• it starts by checking for reusable product marketing context in .agents/product-marketing-context.md or .claude/product-marketing-context.md
• it asks for the right missing inputs before writing
• it organizes output by angle, not just by copy length
• it accounts for ad-platform format constraints
• it supports both new creative and iteration on existing ads
• it includes references for platform specs and generative visual tooling

That makes ad-creative for Copywriting especially useful when you need production-ready variations, not a one-off slogan.

What to inspect before deciding

Read these files first:

• skills/ad-creative/SKILL.md
• skills/ad-creative/evals/evals.json
• skills/ad-creative/references/platform-specs.md
• skills/ad-creative/references/generative-tools.md

The evals show what “good” output looks like. The references make the ad-creative guide more operational by covering format limits and visual-production options.

How to Use ad-creative skill

Install context for ad-creative

Install the skill from the repository root with your normal Skills workflow. A common pattern is:

npx skills add https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills --skill ad-creative

Then confirm the installed copy includes:

• SKILL.md
• evals/evals.json
• references/platform-specs.md
• references/generative-tools.md

Read these files in order

For the fastest understanding of ad-creative usage, use this order:

1. SKILL.md for trigger conditions and workflow
2. evals/evals.json for expected output shape
3. references/platform-specs.md for hard constraints
4. references/generative-tools.md if you also need image or video direction

This cuts adoption time because the skill is more useful when you understand both its questioning flow and its output standards.

Start with product marketing context

A strong ad-creative install is most valuable when your repo already stores reusable positioning context. The skill explicitly checks:

• .agents/product-marketing-context.md
• .claude/product-marketing-context.md

If one exists, the agent should read it before asking you to repeat basics like audience, value proposition, differentiators, or offer. That reduces noisy back-and-forth and leads to more consistent copy.

Inputs the ad-creative skill needs

At minimum, give the skill enough to answer these:

• platform: Google Ads, Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok, X, etc.
• format: RSA, display, feed, story, video, carousel
• product or offer
• target audience
• objective: clicks, leads, trials, purchases
• existing ads or starting from scratch
• constraints: tone, claims, compliance, brand terms, CTA rules

Without these inputs, ad-creative usage becomes generic fast.

Turn a rough request into a usable brief

Weak request:

• “Write me some ads for our software.”

Stronger request:

• “Use the ad-creative skill for Meta feed ads. We sell an AI writing assistant for B2B SaaS content teams. Audience: content marketing managers. Core promise: publish blog posts 5x faster. Offer: 14-day free trial. Need 4 creative angles, 3 variations per angle, each with primary text, headline, description, and image direction. Avoid hype and unsupported claims.”

The second brief improves output because it specifies platform, audience, promise, offer, quantity, and constraints.

How ad-creative structures output well

The repository evidence points to an angle-based workflow. In practice, ask the skill to:

• identify 3 to 5 distinct creative angles
• explain why each angle matches audience pain or desire
• generate multiple variations per angle
• label each asset by platform field
• include visual direction where relevant
• recommend what to test first

This is better than asking for “20 headlines” because it preserves the strategic reason behind each set of variations.

Use platform limits, not generic copy lengths

One of the most important parts of ad-creative usage is respecting format specs. The included references/platform-specs.md is valuable because it anchors outputs to real ad units, such as:

• Google RSA headline limits
• Google RSA description limits
• Meta text, headline, and description constraints
• combination logic like unpinned RSA assets

If you skip this, you may get attractive copy that is unusable in-platform.

Best workflow for new campaigns

For greenfield work, use this sequence:

1. load product marketing context
2. state platform and format
3. provide audience, offer, and conversion goal
4. ask for creative angles first
5. select the best angles
6. expand into production-ready assets
7. review against platform specs
8. launch and collect performance data
9. return to the skill for iteration

This workflow gets more value from the ad-creative skill than one-shot generation.

Best workflow for iterating existing ads

The skill is also suited to optimization work. If you already have ads, provide:

• current copy
• CTR, CVR, CPC, CPA, or qualitative learnings
• winners and losers
• hypotheses about what is underperforming
• constraints on what must stay fixed

Then ask for revised angles and variants, not just rewrites. That keeps iteration tied to evidence instead of style preference.

When to use the visual tools reference

If your ad workflow includes images or short videos, references/generative-tools.md helps bridge copy and asset production. It maps needs like:

• static ad images
• text-overlay visuals
• short video ads
• voiceover
• multilingual variants
• templated video at scale

This matters because ad-creative is not only about words; many teams need concept-plus-copy outputs that can move into creative production.

Practical prompt pattern for ad-creative for Copywriting

A useful reusable prompt template:

“Use the ad-creative skill. First check .agents/product-marketing-context.md or .claude/product-marketing-context.md. If key info is missing, ask only the missing questions. Then create 4 angles for [platform + format] promoting [product] to [audience] with [offer]. For each angle, provide [required fields], stay within platform limits, explain the hook, and rank the angles by likely test priority.”

This prompt works because it aligns with the repository’s intended flow instead of fighting it.

ad-creative skill FAQ

Is ad-creative good for beginners?

Yes, especially if you know your product and audience but do not know how to structure ad variants. The skill gives a repeatable questioning sequence and keeps outputs closer to paid-media reality than ordinary prompting.

Is this better than asking a model to write ads directly?

Usually yes. A plain prompt often returns repetitive copy, ignores field constraints, and mixes angles together. The ad-creative skill adds process: context lookup, missing-input collection, angle development, and platform-aware formatting.

When is ad-creative a poor fit?

Do not rely on this skill alone when you need:

• campaign strategy or channel selection
• targeting architecture
• budget allocation
• landing page optimization
• legal review for sensitive claims

It is strongest for ad creation and iteration, not full-funnel paid media planning.

Does ad-creative support Google and social ad formats?

Yes. The source materials explicitly reference Google Ads and social channels like Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok, and X-style workflows. The platform-spec file is a strong sign that the skill is meant to adapt outputs to each environment.

What makes the ad-creative install decision easier?

Two things:

• the evals show concrete expected behavior
• the references reduce guesswork on specs and visual production

That means the ad-creative guide has more operational value than a skill that only contains a general writing prompt.

Can I use ad-creative for Copywriting outside paid ads?

Only partially. You may get useful hooks or benefit statements, but the skill is designed around paid ad formats and testing logic. For broader messaging or landing pages, use a more general copywriting workflow.

How to Improve ad-creative skill

Give sharper audience and offer inputs

The biggest quality jump comes from better source inputs. Include:

• exact audience segment
• buying stage
• problem awareness level
• concrete offer
• proof points
• objections
• tone boundaries

“B2B SaaS marketers” is weaker than “content marketing managers at Series A–C SaaS companies who need to increase output without adding headcount.”

Ask for angle diversity explicitly

A common failure mode is getting cosmetic rewrites of the same idea. Prevent that by asking for clearly different angle types, such as:

• speed
• ROI
• pain relief
• competitive differentiation
• social proof
• ease of adoption

That makes the ad-creative skill produce tests you can actually learn from.

Add real performance data on the second pass

For iteration, feed back signals like:

• high CTR but low CVR
• low CTR on feature-led hooks
• strong performance from ROI language
• fatigue in one emotional angle

The skill becomes far more useful when it can respond to evidence rather than regenerate from scratch.

Specify what must stay fixed and what can vary

Tell the skill whether these are fixed:

• brand name
• CTA
• offer
• claim language
• keyword usage
• compliance phrases

And tell it what can vary:

• angle
• hook
• benefit framing
• proof style
• tone intensity

This avoids unusable outputs and speeds approval.

Use the platform reference to catch bad outputs

Even good generations can fail on hard limits. Before using assets, compare them against references/platform-specs.md. In ad-creative workflows, this is one of the easiest quality-control wins because many failures are structural, not strategic.

Improve ad-creative outputs with stronger examples

If you have winners, provide them. If you have weak ads, provide those too. The skill is more likely to produce meaningful iterations when it can see:

• your current tone
• what messages already saturated
• what language performed well
• what competitors overuse

That context produces better variation than asking for “fresh ideas” in the abstract.

Push for ranked recommendations, not just copy volume

More outputs do not automatically mean better testing. Ask the ad-creative skill to rank angles by:

• likely resonance
• intent match
• novelty
• proof strength
• platform fit

This helps teams choose what to launch first instead of drowning in undifferentiated variants.