ElasticFlow
AI SkillScan AdsMarketingby Gooseworks

Ad Creative Intelligence — find ad angles competitors haven't tried

Runs on
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Map the competitor ad landscape to find creative whitespace

  • Scrapes active competitor ads from Meta and Google ad libraries
  • Clusters ads by hook type, format, and CTA pattern
  • Identifies dominant angles and overcrowded categories
  • Surfaces white space angles nobody is running
  • Outputs experiment ideas with proposed ad copy

Who this is for

Growth Marketer

You run experiments, optimize funnels, and own the numbers from signup to revenue. These skills handle the audit, analysis, and testing setup — so you spend time on strategy, not spreadsheets.

See skills for this role

What it does

Pre-launch creative research

Before running paid campaigns, see exactly what hooks competitors are using and which ones nobody owns yet.

Quarterly creative refresh

Run periodically to spot new patterns competitors are testing and stay ahead of stale creative.

Category entry

When entering a new category, audit the established players' ad strategies before you write a single line of copy.

How it works

1

Take competitor domains as input

2

Scrape Meta ads via meta-ad-scraper for each domain

3

Scrape Google ads via google-ad-scraper

4

Cluster ads by hook type, format, and CTA

5

Output gap analysis with experiment recommendations

Metrics this improves

Ad CTR
Higher CTR by testing white space angles competitors aren't running
Marketing

Works with

Google Ads
API

Source for active competitor ads via Google Ads Transparency

Meta Ads
API

Source for active competitor ads via Meta Ad Library

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View on GitHub

Ad Creative Intelligence

Scrape competitor ads from Meta and Google, then analyze creative patterns — hooks, formats, angles, CTAs — to find directions you haven't tried and identify what's resonating in the market.

Core principle: The best ad creative teams don't guess. They start with evidence from what's already working, then differentiate.

When to Use

  • "What ads are my competitors running?"
  • "Find new creative angles for our paid campaigns"
  • "What hooks are working in [our space]?"
  • "I want to audit the ad landscape before we launch"
  • "What format — video, image, carousel — is dominant in our category?"

Phase 0: Intake

  1. Competitor names and website domains (e.g., apollo.io, clay.run)
  2. Your own domain (to optionally include for self-audit comparison)
  3. Channels to cover: Meta only, Google only, or both? (default: both)
  4. Time range: active ads only (default) or historical?
  5. What's your product category? (helps with analysis framing)

Phase 1: Scrape Meta Ads

Run meta-ad-scraper for each competitor:

python3 skills/meta-ad-scraper/scripts/scrape_meta_ads.py \
  --domain <competitor_domain> \
  --output json

Collect per ad:

  • Ad copy (headline + body text)
  • Visual description / media type (image, video, carousel)
  • CTA button text
  • Landing page URL
  • Estimated run time (active duration proxy)
  • Platforms (Facebook, Instagram, etc.)

Phase 2: Scrape Google Ads

Run google-ad-scraper for each competitor:

python3 skills/google-ad-scraper/scripts/scrape_google_ads.py \
  --domain <competitor_domain> \
  --output json

Collect per ad:

  • Headline variants (up to 3)
  • Description lines
  • Ad type (search, display, YouTube)
  • Landing page URL

Phase 3: Cluster & Analyze

After collecting all ads, perform structured analysis:

Hook Pattern Clustering

Group all ad headlines/openers by hook type:

Hook TypePatternExample
Fear/LossRisk of missing out or falling behind"Your competitors are already using AI SDRs"
OutcomeDirect result promise"10x your pipeline in 30 days"
QuestionChallenges current assumption"Still doing outbound manually?"
Social proofNames customers or numbers"Join 500+ B2B teams using [product]"
ContrarianChallenges conventional wisdom"Cold email isn't dead. Your copy is."
EmpathyValidates their pain"We know SDR ramp time is brutal"
Product-ledFeature as hook"[Feature] is live — see what's new"

Count how many ads per competitor use each hook type. This reveals their primary messaging strategy.

Format Distribution

FormatMetaGoogle
Static image[N]N/A
Video[N][N]
Carousel[N]N/A
Search textN/A[N]
Display bannerN/A[N]

CTA Taxonomy

List all unique CTAs found. Common patterns:

  • Urgency: "Start free", "Try now", "Get started today"
  • Low-friction: "See how it works", "Watch demo", "Learn more"
  • Outcome: "Book a demo", "Get your free audit", "Calculate your ROI"

Landing Page Analysis

For top-traffic ads (those running longest), note:

  • What angle does the landing page reinforce?
  • Is the LP general or campaign-specific?
  • What's the primary conversion goal?

Phase 4: Gap Analysis & Recommendations

Identify:

  1. Angles nobody is running — Hook types absent from competitor ads = white space
  2. Overcrowded angles — If everyone leads with "save time", avoid it or be more specific
  3. Format opportunities — If no one is running video in your space, it may stand out
  4. Underutilized proof — Are competitors avoiding specific proof points you could own?
  5. CTA patterns to test — What CTAs do the longest-running ads use?

Phase 5: Output Format

# Ad Creative Intelligence Report — [DATE]

## Coverage
- Competitors analyzed: [list]
- Meta ads collected: [N]
- Google ads collected: [N]

---

## Meta Ad Analysis

### Hook Distribution
| Hook Type | [Comp1] | [Comp2] | [Comp3] |
|-----------|---------|---------|---------|
| Fear/Loss | 40% | 10% | 0% |
| Outcome | 30% | 50% | 60% |
...

### Top Performing Ads (Longest Running)
**[Competitor] — [Ad Title/Hook]**
> [Ad copy excerpt]
- Format: [type]
- CTA: [text]
- Running since: [date]
- Why it likely works: [analysis]

---

## Google Ad Analysis

### Headline Patterns
[Top headline structures with examples]

### Most Common CTAs
[ranked list]

---

## Creative Gap Analysis

### Angles Nobody Is Running
1. [Angle] — Why it could work for you: [reasoning]
2. [Angle] — ...

### Overcrowded Angles (Avoid or Differentiate)
- [Angle] — [N] of [N] competitors use this

### Format White Space
- [Format] is not being used by competitors on [platform]

---

## Recommended Creative Experiments

### Experiment 1: [Name]
- Platform: [Meta/Google]
- Format: [type]
- Hook angle: [type]
- Proposed headline: "[headline]"
- Proposed body: "[copy]"
- Why test this: [rationale]

### Experiment 2: ...

Save to clients/<client-name>/intelligence/ad-creative-intel-[YYYY-MM-DD].md.

Cost

ComponentCost
Meta ad scraper (per competitor)~$0.20-0.50 (Apify)
Google ad scraper (per competitor)~$0.20-0.50 (Apify)
Total for 3 competitors~$1-3

Tools Required

  • Apify API token — APIFY_API_TOKEN env var
  • Upstream skills: meta-ad-scraper, google-ad-scraper

Trigger Phrases

  • "What ads are [competitor] running?"
  • "Audit the ad landscape for [product category]"
  • "Run ad creative intel for [client]"
  • "Find new paid ad angles we haven't tried"