Scroll. Scroll. Scroll. Scroll. Huh, what’s that? Ad. Attention lost. Squirrel. Scroll. Scroll. Wow, their kid is getting so big. Scroll. Scroll. They bought a new house, cool. Scroll. Ad. Skip. Scroll. I was just talking about getting new shoes and there’s an Adidas ad. Skip. Scroll. Scroll.
Feel familiar? That’s approximately one minute of scrolling and tapping on social media. But truthfully, on average, people spend between four and six hours on their phone in a single day, split into increments. As marketers, it’s our job to stop the scroll, and the methods in doing so continue to evolve.
Barry Hott, a pioneer in social marketing and founder of industry blog Hott Takes, says the new(ish) phenomenon of “ugly ads” is resonating more than ever as consumers skip through the polished ads.
To creative marketers, the idea of creating intentionally “ugly” ads is uncomfortable. But in an AI-driven and filter-laden world, we have to look at the types of content that users are actually consuming and determine how our brands can best fit into that scope.
The bottom line: Consumers are engaging more with ads that don’t really look like ads. But there’s gotta be strategy behind it.
Let’s break it down.
What is an ugly ad?
The term “ugly ad” doesn’t refer to promoting something ugly, or even promoting it in an ugly way. It was coined, simply, as a contrast to ads that are more polished or that have high production quality and budget. It’s a broad nickname for a very strategic type of advertising on social media.
Hott says, “If you throw a logo at people right off the bat, you lose them immediately.” He adds that breaking free from traditional marketing creative can go a long way in social ads and actually have a lasting positive impact for a brand.
It doesn’t mean that an ugly ad shouldn’t still carry the principles of marketing. Ads have to include a hook – something to entice someone to consume, to buy, to show up. But content that feels like it was produced for other platforms can lack authenticity and that’s precisely why users will just keep on scrolling.
So how can we get past a consumer’s subconscious ad-blockers? Keep reading…
Examples of ugly ads
It’s harder than ever to make ads that resonate on social media, because everyone can create content and everyone is consuming content all day, every day.
Some brands have found the secret sauce and the one key ingredient is authenticity.
Like this one → Oats Overnight is a huge advertiser on Meta’s Facebook and Instagram. They’ve clued into a couple of things with this video ad; first, reply videos are huge. It increases further engagement and shows that a brand is actually paying attention. Secondly, it’s not overly produced. It combines multiple mobile video clips with text and voiceover.
And this one → Flakes is a dandruff shampoo and in an ad that Hott produced himself, he said that after a few failures, the ad with the copy “My secret weapon against dandruff,” took off, converting sales from new customers for the company. In a recent roundtable discussion on digital ads, he shared that Post-it Notes ads perform very well when used the right way.
In these ads produced by LTD Connect, we met up with Crain Kia of Sherwood General Manager Jason Buchanan who had some big offers to share in his Meta ads in March 2025. They’re stripped down, to-the-point ads specifically shot for social media.
In addition to the style, it’s important to note that the ad in this set which out-performed the other is when Jason gets price-point-specific on a Kia Sportage.
Another successful example from the team at LTD Connect shows General Manager Bill Vueleman in what feels like a heart-to-heart conversation with the viewer. There’s no track, not a lot of snappy b-roll — just raw and real as Bill goes into the hot topic of tariffs and their potential impact on the industry as well as an offer from the Ford store.
Let’s be clear
Often, brands want to place their traditional TV ads on social media, and often, those ads get little-to-no play. Hott says it’s our internal ad-blockers, in a sense, rejecting what doesn’t feel authentic because we’re scrolling on social media.
There is nothing wrong with highly produced content. We create that, too! But there is a time and place for it. In this day and age, creative that’s working in the social media ad space is based on authenticity – video and imagery that represents realness.
Want to see greater conversions on your ads? We’d love to partner with you! Contact us at LTD Connect and we’ll build a marketing plan for you that includes authentic, strategic ads that will connect you to customers.
This blog entry was written by Jessica Amis, Director of Creative at LTD Connect. Jessica is a two-time Emmy Award Winner with an extensive background in creative marketing and strategic brand management. Connect with Jessica here!
