Style 05 of 10
Problem → solution demo
Also called “product demo”, “PAS ad”, “how-it-works” or “feature demo”.
The product does the thing it's for, on camera, with nothing in the way. A problem in the first second, then hands and close-ups doing the job, step by step, and the result. If your product has a moment people can see, this is usually your best ad.
- Consumer brands
- Local & professional services
- Lenders & financial services
- Cold and warm audiences
Opens OpenCraft Studio with this style’s brief ready to edit. Fill in your product; nothing is made until you approve the storyboard.
What it is
A demo ad proves a claim by showing it. The classic direct-response shape is problem, agitate, solution: the stain, the mess, the thing that won't work; a beat to make it sting; then the product fixing it. The product is the star and the hands are the cast.
It's one of the formats that scales. In Motion's 2026 benchmark of about $1.3 billion of Meta spend, demos had an 8.1% hit rate and took 12.9% of spend, behind only offer banners and testimonials. Motion's read on home and lifestyle brands was blunt: "demonstration and process matter more than anything else."
It also works for services that have a visible process. NU Med Spas has run a single, uncut 43-second close-up of a laser removing a tattoo for more than 18 months. An HVAC brand runs a creator's install footage cut to a shot per step.
Anatomy
- 0–2sThe problem, or the resultEither the problem in action (the tattoo, the cold room) or the finished result first, so the viewer knows what they're about to see happen.
- 2–4sThe productNamed and shown, in hand. Brand and product can land in the first sentence here; demos don't need to withhold them.
- MiddleStep by stepOne shot per step: unbox, attach, pour, spray, wipe. Cut on the action so it moves.
- LateThe resultThe payoff held a beat longer than the steps: the clean surface, the room at the right temperature.
- Last 3sCloseProduct and result together, the claim or the offer on screen, then a short end card.
- Length
- 15–30 seconds. A single-shot process demo can run longer if the process itself holds attention.
- Shot length
- About 1 second per step in an edited demo (the HVAC install averages 0.94s). A single continuous shot is the other extreme, and also works.
- Talking head
- 0–20%. Hands, product and result fill the frame.
- Voice
- Optional. A brand voice-over naming each claim, a creator talking over their own footage, or no voice and text only.
- Captions
- The claims as on-screen text ("SAVE THOUSANDS", "40% OFF"), plus captions if there's a voice.
- Music
- A bed that builds with the steps, about 10 LU under any voice. Real sound (the spray, the sizzle) is worth keeping.
- End card
- Two to five seconds: product, offer, one action.
What it’s good for, and bad for
Good for
- Products with a visible moment. Cleaners, cookware, skincare with a texture, tools, anything that installs or transforms.
- Proving a claim. "Easy to install" is an adjective; a dad and daughter hanging the unit in nine shots is proof.
- Services with a process. Laser treatments, detailing, repairs: the process itself is the pitch, and it needs no presenter.
Bad for
- Invisible products. Supplements, insurance and most software have no moment to film. Show the consequence in the world, or use a testimonial.
- Results that take weeks. A demo compresses time honestly only when the process is fast. For slow results, use before and after with clear labels.
- Faked results. A demo that couldn't happen as shown is a false claim. Keep the steps real and the timing honest.
By business
- Consumer brands
- The workhorse for anything tactile: kitchen, cleaning, beauty, tools. Show it working in the first two seconds.
- Lenders & financial services
- The demo is the application: a screen recording of the few steps it takes, kept under three seconds per screen and set in a real business's day.
- Local & professional services
- Strong wherever the process is visible: med spa treatments, auto detailing, HVAC and plumbing fixes. The job itself is the ad.
Real examples
Real brands’ ads, cited for reference. We didn’t make them. Unless marked “ran”, each was still running in the Meta Ad Library on Sep 29, 2026. Days live is the only performance signal the Library shows, and an ad that keeps running is usually paying for itself.
- HVACDirect (MRCOOL)DIY heat pumps
A creator's phone footage of her and her dad installing a mini-split, cut to one shot per step (unbox, bracket, drill, line set, lift, hang, condenser) at under a second each. A studio voice reads four claims in eleven seconds (save money, do it yourself, a pre-charged line set, quick and easy) over a bed that goes full-band on the key claim. A line under the captions discloses that the creator was paid. It ends on two silent product shots and the retailer's end card.
Take from it: One step per shot is the pace. And say who's paid when a creator is in the footage.
View in the Meta Ad Library · ID 1681149943171860 - NU Med SpasLaser tattoo removal
One uncut close-up: a gloved hand passes a laser over a black tattoo on a forearm, and the ink frosts white under it. No presenter, no cuts, no voice. A lower third stays up the whole time: "Tattoo removal. A mistake you can erase. 40% OFF" with a "Book now" button.
Take from it: When the process is satisfying to watch, film it and get out of the way.
View in the Meta Ad Library · ID 1014559423342412 - Beauty From BeesBody serum
Opens on serum pouring into a palm at a sink under the hook "Get retinol results without irritating your skin!" A woman holds the bottle to camera, then macro shots of the ingredient label and the serum going onto a leg, one claim per shot. A fixed caption, "Try it for 20% OFF! Code: SERUM20", sits mid-frame the whole way.
Take from it: Texture close-ups do the talking for skincare, and an offer can live on screen for the whole ad.
View in the Meta Ad Library · ID 884215667540987
Common mistakes
- A slow start. Opening on the box on a table, or a logo, loses the viewer before the product does anything. Start on the problem or the result.
- Floating UI. For apps and software, 15 seconds of dashboards is the most scrolled-past thing in the feed. Keep screens to short inserts inside a real scene.
- Narrating the picture. "Now I'm spraying it on the stain" over a shot of the spray wastes the voice. Say what the picture can't: the number, the feeling, the consequence.
- Too many features. A demo proves one or two claims well. Seven features in 20 seconds proves none.
- Ending on a logo. End on the result with the product in frame. The end card adds the brand.
The prompt
The brief we’d give OpenCraft to make one. Swap the brackets for your own details. The director turns it into a script and a storyboard for you to approve before anything is filmed.
Make a 20-second problem-to-solution demo ad for [product] from [brand]. Open on the problem, mid-moment, in a real place: [the problem, e.g. a red-wine stain on a white couch]. Then the product fixing it, one quick close-up per step: [step 1], [step 2], [step 3]. Hold the result a beat longer: [the result]. Hands and product fill the frame; no presenter needed. Put the one claim that matters on screen: [claim]. A music bed that builds with the steps. End on the product next to the result, then the end card: [CTA].