The first cut is where a lot of good ads get worse. The video arrives, it gets forwarded to five people, each of them feels obliged to contribute something, and a week later a natural, slightly messy video has turned into a nervous one. We’ve reviewed thousands of these, and the fix is dull: a routine.
Pick one person to own the feedback and give them this checklist. It runs in four passes, each looking for something different, and it takes about ten minutes a video.
Pass one: watch it like a stranger
Use a phone, since that’s where the ad will run, and leave the sound off the first time. Laptops flatter everything. Scroll through something else for a moment, land on the video the way a viewer would, and ask:
- Would I stop for this?
- Five seconds in, do I know what’s being sold and who it’s for?
- With no sound, do I still get the point?
Pass two: check the message
Turn the sound on and open the brief next to it.
- Does the hook match the angle you asked for?
- Is the main takeaway said out loud, in words a customer would use?
- Does the product show up early enough, with the label readable?
- Is there a clear next step at the end?
Pass three: check the facts
This pass protects you, and it’s the one people rush.
- Every claim matches your approved list, word for word where it has to.
- Price, offer and shipping details are still current.
- The product name is pronounced correctly and the packaging is the current version.
- No other brand is visible. Check the fridge magnets, the T-shirt and the laptop lid.
- The music is cleared for paid ads. Trending sounds often aren’t.
- Any disclosure the ad needs is in place.
Pass four: check the craft
- The audio is clean, with no hum under the voice.
- Subtitles are free of typos, in sync and clear of the app’s buttons.
- There’s no dead air at the start, and the cuts land in sensible places.
- The end frame holds long enough to read.
What to leave alone
A slightly untidy shelf. A natural pause. A creator saying “honestly” one more time than you would. These are the details that tell a viewer a person made this, and that’s what you paid for. If a note would make the video look more like a brand film, ask yourself what the note is for.
The same goes for personal taste. You may not like the creator’s jumper. Your customers have never seen your mood board, and they won’t be thinking about the jumper.
Write notes people can act on
Send everything in one message. Give each note a timestamp, say what should happen, and mark it must-fix or nice-to-have. “Make it punchier” gives an editor nothing to do. Here’s what a useful note looks like:
If a line sounds stiff, say which line. “Sound more natural” tends to make people sound less natural, in our experience. And when something works, say that too. A creator who hears what landed will do more of it on the next brief.
Revisions are included on every Amplifical project. One clear round still beats three vague ones, mostly for the sake of your own calendar.