4 Things Winning Creatives Need
By: Eric Phillipou on a webinar for the Foxwell Founders Membership titled: Creating and iterating high performing ads with Eric Phillipou
Why the Old Creative Playbook Is Dead—and What’s Working Now
If you’ve spent any time in ad accounts recently, you’ve probably noticed: the old creative playbook, and the creative iteration playbook, more specifically, isn’t hitting like it used to.
It used to be simple. You could take a winning ad, swap the hook, tweak the CTA, maybe rewrite the headline, and Meta would treat it as a fresh piece of content. But in 2025? That playbook is now unfortunately obsolete. Meta’s algorithm now deprioritizes duplicate-adjacent creative. If your edit looks like the original, it gets treated like the original, which could be a good thing if the original is also performing, but that also means that it’s duplicating the original’s creative fatigue to the new iteration, and also using the same algorithmic learnings on the new iteration, so it’s essentially the same piece of content from an AI/algorithm/delivery perspective. So in that case, why are we still iterating?
If you only take away one thing from this blog, it should be this: Iteration today is about modular transformation, not micro-adjustments.
Eric Phillipou is a Foxwell Founders member and hosted a webinar that we’ve reworked into a blog for you here. If you love this content, you’d love the community. Learn more and take a tour of the membership here.
The 4-Part Framework Every Winning Creative Needs
Whether you're launching net-new or iterating off a top performer, these four elements should guide your creative process:
Benefit – What’s in it for the viewer/potential customer? What pain or problem does this solve?
Positioning – What’s uniquely true about this brand or product?
Emotional Response – What does the viewer feel? (Anger, relief, FOMO, joy, aspiration, something else?)
Clarity – Are you being clear and direct, or clever and confusing?
In the past, iteration meant swapping a headline or image. Today, iteration means shifting which one of these four elements you emphasize. If performance is down, don’t tweak copy anymore. Instead, reassess where your ad falls flat in this framework and try again.
Emotional Resonance Is the Real Hook
One example stood out: a therapist brand whose ad read, “The cost of therapy shouldn’t cause more anxiety.” It checked every creative box:
Benefit: Affordable therapy
Positioning: Takes insurance
Emotional Spike: Frustration with the healthcare system
Clarity: No fluff, just truth
It wasn’t just the message—it was the feeling that drove clicks. That emotional gut-punch elevated the ad from “informative” to “compelling,” especially at the top of funnel.
Most ads that look solid on paper underperform because they’re emotionally flat. Don’t just inform. Provoke.
How Iteration Has Evolved in 2025
Creative iteration isn’t just different small variables anymore. It’s way deeper than that. Minor edits (text swaps, headline tweaks, etc.) are now interpreted by Meta’s algorithm as recycled. To win, creatives need meaningful structural variation.
So what does that actually mean? It means:
Reworking the angle (e.g., results-first vs. problem-first)
Changing the emotional tone (e.g., fear vs. humor vs. hope)
Swapping the visual style (e.g., UGC vs. polished vs. animation)
Reordering content modules (e.g., hook before product vs. story before hook)
The goal isn’t to make a “new version”—it’s to make it feel new to both the viewer and Meta’s machine.
Iteration Is Now Modular: Here’s How to Do It
The best brands think of their ads as modular systems. Eric broke down creative into swappable chunks that can be reassembled to produce fresh iterations without starting from scratch:
Hook (0–3s): Pattern interrupt or curiosity gap
Angle/Value Prop: New emotional or practical context
Proof Point: Social proof, demos, press, etc.
Call-to-Action: Strong, varied, testable
Visual Treatment: Hybrid, UGC, high polish, etc.
Once you’ve got a winning ad, use it as seed content. From that one base, you can spin off:
3 new hooks
2 new angles
1 new visual treatment
With these swaps, you’ve got 5–10 unique creatives that retain the winning DNA without triggering Meta’s creative fatigue filters.
Creator Diversity Matters More Than Ever
Another major lever: creator variation. Using different faces, voices, and styles not only refreshes the ad experience, but it also improves audience relatability and extends shelf life. Creator swaps are especially useful for evergreen campaigns. Keep the messaging the same, but vary the delivery. The added diversity in voice and tone drives improved engagement without reinventing the wheel.
One great way to do a creative iteration is to send a winning creative to a new creator and have them remake the video in their own style, as close to the original as possible, but with all new… everything. THIS is a big swing for creative that still keeps the foundation steady of what you know was already proven.
What to Do Next: Action Steps for Creative Teams
Here’s how you can apply these insights in your next creative sprint:
Audit your top-performing creatives using the 4-part framework: Benefit, Positioning, Emotion, Clarity.
Isolate the emotional drivers—and make them bolder.
Build modularly. Use hooks, angles, proof points, and visual treatments as swappable blocks.
Use creator diversity as a tool to refresh and scale.
Tag and organize creatives by message type, emotion, and style to avoid repetition and aid testing.
In a world where Meta’s algorithm prizes novelty and emotional connection, your creative edge isn’t just about making new ads, it’s about making ads that feel new in structure, tone, and impact.
If your performance is plateauing, don’t default to another CTA swap. Step back, revisit your framework, and ask: which of these four pillars is missing?
Because in 2025, that’s what winning creatives need.