BetterMe · B2C · fitness and weight-loss app
Run ugly ads that show the product and the pain in the first second
One ran for years; called 'the best ad ever'; no numbers
Workedpaid-social
What they did
Unpolished ads that explain the product and the pain in the first second rather than pretty brand spots; e.g. BetterMe's illustrated 'belly fat' ad showing fat hanging off the front. Avoid 15-second polished brand creatives (and AI assistants' advice to make them). Lead with the product/pain as in launching a new product category.
What happened
The belly-fat ad ran for years (David still saw it long after); Yuliya calls it 'the best ad ever'. No numbers.
- Stage
- scale
In their words
Sub Club by RevenueCat · Make Ugly Ads to Grow Your App – Yuliya Lennox (Solid Starts)“There is this famous saying like make ugly ads. I think we invented that and I believe in that hundred percent because people don't want the TV shots at any point.”
“the most kind of shocking ugly ad that I saw in probably, it was probably the time you were there at BetterMe was this really gross belly fat ad”
“And sometimes your feed is so pretty that you need something ugly to take your attention from it.”
Related topics
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- EWA: Learn English: Run paid ads from the start alongside organic growthOrganic-only apps plateau; paid added late often ate into organic
- Palta: Share test results across apps and with a weekly peer group
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- Ladder: Sign a celebrity like Hilary Duff for brand adsBig influx almost at once, secondhand; ROI hard to measure
- Solid Starts: Hire people obsessed with the problemCredited for product quality; no numbers
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- Run three apps at once with one teamBiggest fail of the year: attention spread too thin