How to Analyse Competitor Ads Like a Pro | 7-Step Creative Analysis Guide

How to Analyse Your Competitors Ads Like a Pro

With our seven-step guide, learn how to perform a creative analysis of your competitors. Analyse ads like a pro and create brilliant campaigns that outshine the competition!

You’ve spent countless hours fine-tuning your ads—perfecting the visuals, crafting compelling copy, and even running A/B tests on every possible element. Yet, despite all that effort, the results are underwhelming, with only a few conversions trickling in.

What’s going wrong?

Chances are, your competitors are outshining you by doing something you haven’t cracked yet. In the world of advertising, the competition never sleeps, and to beat them, you need to do more than just create a great ad—you need to create a better one.

The solution? A solid competitor ad analysis. By dissecting your competitors' strategies, you can:

Spot the messaging, creatives, and CTAs that work best in your industry.
Uncover gaps in your own marketing approach.
Gain valuable insights to improve your campaigns.

This seven-step guide will teach you how to analyse ads like a pro and give you the edge you need to create campaigns that don’t just compete—they dominate.

Theme 1: Concept

Your ad's concept is essentially its core idea or theme - the overarching message you want to convey to your audience.

For example, a travel company's concept could be to "Explore the world with us" or to "Experience luxury at affordable prices." See the difference? One focuses on adventure, while the other emphasises affordability. For your ads, it's important to find a theme or concept that resonates with your target audience.

To do so, look at what core messages your competitor's ads try to convey.

Ask yourself:

What's their main message or value proposition?
What pain points are they addressing?
How are they positioning their product or service? I.e., are they focusing on features, benefits, or emotional appeal?

To find your competitor's ad themes, use tools like MagicBrief's brand tracker to analyse the core ideas they're emphasising over time. For example, this brand frequently highlights 'personalised plans' or 'testimonials of significant weight loss,' as shown in the chart below:

Step 2: Analyse Your Competitor's Hooks

A good hook makes a person stop in their tracks to view your ad, and hopefully, take action. These can take different forms, such as a question, bold statement, or statistic, i.e, did you know that 8 out of 10 people prefer our product?

When researching your competition, break down their hook frame by frame. During this process, ask yourself the following:

What type of hook are they using?
What creative format are they using? I.e, Split Screen, or DTC (Direct to Camera)?
What emotional triggers are they using? I.e Fear, Curiosity, FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), etc
Are they using text overlays or captions?
How does the hook relate to the overall concept of the ad?
What visuals or music are they using to support their hook?

Like with themes, MagicBrief allows you to see which hooks your competitors predominantly use, how often, and when. After identifying which hooks they rely on to get clicks, you can strategize on making your hooks more compelling and unique.

Step 3: Ad Script

An ad isn't just about having a strong hook, body, and call to action. It's about how the script is structured, or how the individual sections work together to form a cohesive message. If these sections don’t flow well, you won't maintain the audience's interest.

You can break down your competitor's ad script scene by scene. For example:

Scenes 1 and 2: Establish the problem or pain point that the product/service solves
Scene 3: Introduce the solution and highlight its benefits
Scene 4: Showcase social proof through testimonials or user-generated content (UGC)
Scene 5: Present a call to action

During your analysis, you'll want to find out things like the number of scenes the ad has, each scene's purpose, and how the messages flow from one scene to the next, i.e., pain point, solution, social proof, and call to action.

If you require ad transcripts, use MagicBrief's transcript feature. This feature allows you to access the entire ad script, scene by scene, and analyse each section’s effectiveness. Use these insights to refine your own ad script and create a powerful, cohesive message that resonates with your audience.

Stage 4: Visuals and Music

Next, focus on your competitor's ads visuals and music. These elements are key in building an emotional connection and reinforcing its core message.

Pay close attention to shot types—whether close-ups, wide angles, or product-focused—and how the lighting (dramatic or natural) influences the overall mood. Notice if special effects or text overlays are used to highlight key points.

When it comes to music, consider how it sets the tone. Is it fast and energetic or slow and emotional? Does it match different parts of the ad? Visuals and music should create a cohesive experience that keeps viewers engaged.

For instance, if competitors use fast-paced music and lifestyle scenes without product shots, you might stand out by opting for slower, emotional music and a more product-focused visual approach.

Remember that the point of competitor research isn’t to copy but to understand what works and make it your own. If you believe tweaking the visuals or music in your ad can strengthen its impact, then go for it! Just be sure to be data-driven and use insights from your research to support any changes you make.

Stage 5: Ad Pacing

Ever noticed how the best movies have excellent pacing? With a proper balance between fast and slow scenes and the story progressing at an appropriate speed, the pacing keeps viewers hooked. The same goes for ads.

Take note of how your competitor paces their ad. Do they start strong and steady or build up to a climax? Are there any moments where you're drifting off? If so, why? Is the ad too long or does it lack variety in its pacing?

The pacing should align with the ad's objective and target audience, whether to create awareness, generate interest, or drive action. Younger audiences, for example, are used to streaming platforms like TikTok and Twitch, making them accustomed to fast-paced content. Meanwhile, older audiences may prefer a slower pace with more time to absorb information.

When determining your own pace, ask yourself the following:

Does the pacing align with the overall ad message and objective?
Is there a good balance between high-energy moments and slower, informative sections?
Does the pacing feel natural for the audience you're targeting?
How does the pacing support the ad's key emotional or persuasive points?

To quickly find brands with excellent and effective pacing, use MagicBrief's AI-powered ad performance estimates. With just a few clicks, you’ll uncover top-rated ads, analysed for key factors like ad longevity, script quality, and editing pace. Use these as inspiration for your own ad pacing and keep your audience engaged and enticed.

Stage 6: Message Consistency

Have you ever visited a landing page that didn't match its corresponding ad? It may have promoted a free trial, but the landing page only mentioned a discounted price. This lack of consistency can spike up bounce rates and ruin conversion rates.

To ensure your ads are congruent throughout, check if your competitor's ad's intent and messaging are clear, specific, and aligned with their landing page or website. Visual elements, like colour, images, and fonts, should also remain consistent.

For example, if your ad features a bright and playful tone, your landing page should also reflect that energy.

Stage 7: Create Ads Based on Everything You’ve Learned

Now that you’ve got a sense of what works, it’s time to take that knowledge and make it your own. Focus on a couple of key themes that really speak to your audience and fit your brand.

Pick 2-3 themes that click with your brand and resonate with your audience.
Create a few ad variations for each theme—play around with different headlines, visuals, and styles.
Test them out to see which one gets the best reaction.
If ads highlighting your product’s unique benefits get more attention than limited-time offers, double down on that approach.
Keep tweaking and improving your ads based on the feedback you get.

By doing this, you’ll build a solid core concept for your ads while still keeping things fresh and interesting.

Refine Ads and Roll Out New Ones Based on Analytics

A creative strategist doesn’t rely solely on gut feelings or copying competitors to create successful ads. They must delve into analytics, using data to refine existing ads and roll out new ones. That’s how they truly optimise campaigns and achieve better results.

But if analysing data isn’t your strong suit, no worries! MagicBrief's Creative Analytics simplifies the process by delivering easy-to-understand insights tailored to the metrics that matter most to you. With MagicBrief, you'll quickly see which ads need work and which exceed expectations.

If, on the other hand, you need ad inspiration, MagicBrief’s Chrome extension allows you to save competitor ads from the Facebook Ad Library or TikTok Creative Centre for further study. Alternatively, you can search and filter ads from our extensive ad library, which contains over 5,000,000 ads from 25,000+ brands.

Start MagicBrief for free today and use our wide range of analytics and inspiration tools. Get access to our chrome extension, ad library, creative analytic tools, and more. With MagicBrief by your side, you can feel confident that your ads are always optimised for success.

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