Kyle Sulerud - May 19, 2021Let’s look at some examples of the ‘reveal a problem’ element that you can use in your YouTube Ads.
*I don’t necessarily support or endorse all of the advertisers here, but these ads make really good examples.
If you’re using the ‘reveal a problem’ element in your ads, it means you’re pointing out an issue with the status quo. Perhaps a hypothetical scenario about a situation the viewer might find themselves in or just a general problem with something the viewer may have done or heard. Alright, let’s look at some examples to give you some ideas on how you could reveal a problem in your own ads.
Example #1
He reveals a problem with what you have been told by others:
“Anyone who tells you that wealth accumulation is easy – well they’re flat out lying to you. Then there are millionaires running around the internet telling you that they have a system you can duplicate. What they’re really doing is selling a pipe dream. Anyone who flashes their Lamborghini and fancy cars with every chance that they get while also saying those things aren’t important to them, well they’re full of you-know-what.”
By revealing this problem, he’s connecting with the viewer, especially the viewer who has had those same thoughts before. He’s building trust, plus he’s separating himself from the status quo so that it’s implied that he’s going to be different. He’s not going to be the same as the problem that he is revealing.
Example #2
This advertiser reveals a problem with what the viewer is doing:
“The thing is, you’d rather watch YouTube videos about how to get rich instead of just going to take action. Right now, if you’re watching this video, you’re not making $10,000/month on autopilot, I don’t want to call you an idiot again, but you’re not too smart!”
Now, I’m not recommending that you take digs at your audience. It obviously works for him, but what I wanted to point out is that he’s revealing a problem. He’s pointing out that whatever the viewer is doing right now is not working for them. Then, that leads on to him offering a better solution – something that will actually work to solve the viewer’s problem.
Example #3
In this example, the advertiser is revealing an internal problem – a problem with the viewer themselves as a person:
“The second thing I’m going to show you is how to become a completely different person. The truth is you don’t have your goal right now. What that means is that you, as you are right now, are not capable of achieving your goal. If you were, you would have it. In this free training, I’m going to show you…”
He kind of takes a dig at the viewer right there, but the way he does it is really logical. He’s saying, “You’re not the type of person that can achieve this goal that you have. If you were that type of person, you already would have achieved it.” That makes sense. He’s revealed a problem and now he’s going to help us solve that by turning us into the type of person who can achieve that goal.
Example #4
In this example, you’ll see that the problem is revealed through the telling of a hypothetical story about you. It’s told in the second person and it reveals a problem that a lot of people can relate to, especially people who are in the target audience for this particular ad.
“So dinner rolls around and you’re hungry but you decide on another salad. Then, night falls. You’re not supposed to eat again, but you’re hungry. And I’m not just talking about ‘kinda hungry for another salad’, I’m talking you want some food and not the healthy kind. You walk over to the pantry only to blackout and realize that you’ve just binged for the past 30 minutes and eaten everything in sight. Then, you probably lose hope…”
The story keeps going on for a while, but you get the idea. Actually telling a story about the viewer is a really good, interesting way to reveal a problem.
Example #5
This ad reveals a problem with the way everyone else is doing something:
“The biggest mistake I see people making is that they sell products exactly the same as their competitors. If you do that, you can only compete on price and reviews.”
Really effective way to reveal a problem. You talk about things that other people are doing or the way most people do something and you frame that as a mistake. Now that it’s a mistake, it’s a problem and it’s a problem that you as the advertiser can overcome.
There you go! Five examples of the reveal a problem element.