24 Creative, Competitive, & Click-Worthy Ad Copy Examples (+How to Replicate Them)

Copyhackers founder Joanna Wiebe:

“Your job is not to write copy. Your job is to know your visitors, customers, and prospects so well, that you understand the situation they’re in right now, where they’d like to be, and exactly how your solution can and will get them to their ideal self.”

You:

If you’re reading this post, chances are you’re struggle bussing it with your ad copy and in need of some inspiration. Well, shift that bus into park and step into my office—I’ve gathered 24 of the best ad copy examples from five different channels, including:

• Search
• Display
• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn

Each one comes with tips and takeaways you can apply to your own ad copy—so read on and get ready to transform that struggle bus into a sprinter van on the road to success.

Google Search ad copy examples

With no creative imagery to stand out (aside from image extensions), and with the same blue text every other advertiser has to work with, ad copy is (literally) everything for Google Ads. You need to use a combination of keywords, features, benefits, and logistical information to make the ad both stand out and spur action.

Let’s take a look at some Google ad copy examples for different types of keyword.

Competitive ad copy

Looking for some competitive ad copy inspiration? Search for a branded term in Google and your wish will be fulfilled. For example, here’s what I saw when I typed in “wrike”:

• A Wrike ad at the top, heavily focused on authority with words like powerful, enterprise-level security, world’s leading, and trusted.
• A Smartsheet ad claiming to deliver what other tools promise (coughWRIKEcough) with a focus on ease of use (easy to learn, customize, and scale for any project).
• A monday.com ad for an objective comparison 🤨 that reads monday.com is so much better—also focused on ease of use (flexible platform for teams to manage projects, their way, wherever!)
• A Coordinate ad that seems to be having some technical difficulties. (Start holding customers accountable).

Takeaways

• Bid on your own branded terms! Good thing Wrike shows up on top here with its E-A-T and space-taking ad extensions. Learn more about bidding on brand terms here.
• Differentiate your business. If you create competitive ads, think about what differentiates your product or service from your competitor. In this case, it’s clear that both Smartsheet and monday.com are emphasizing ease of use while Wrike is focused on security.
• Competitive copy is cut-throat! Anything is game, even the most blatant.
• Appeal to pain points. The fourth ad in the pack does this well, with “Are they dropping the ball?” and “No follow through?” although “Start holding your customers accountable” seems like an error or maybe responsive ad description mishap.

Goal-oriented ad copy

Let’s move on to Google Ad copy examples for a “strategies” related keyword, which has lower commercial intent. A search for “holiday marketing strategies” reveals a few different approaches you can take here.

Takeaways

• Focus on benefits. When it comes to features vs benefits, commercial intent ad copy can sometimes be more feature-heavy, while informational intent ad copy is often more benefit-focused. You can see this in the ad copy above with words like outperform, secure sales, build their customer base, and grow your sales.
• Draw attention with facts. Try out a snippet of information from the resource you’re promoting, or a compelling stat to capture attention.
• Emotional copywriting sells. Note the fear-inducing make or break in the above ad. We’ve got 273 emotional copywriting words for you to choose from for your ads.
• Use verbs. Note that each of these headlines has a verb: download, outperform, drop, win. I can’t stress verbs enough!
• Match the vibe. Drop everything is great copy for urgency and excitement, which is why I kept it in the screenshot, but it’s not a good fit for this term since strategies aren’t usually associated with speed. (This ad is irrelevant and clearly making several Google ad copy mistakes).

Authoritative ad copy

Finally, let’s look at some ad copy for a big-ticket, high-stakes commercial intent keyword, like “fraud lawyer.” The ad copy here is about authority, availability, and speed.

Takeaways

• Earn their trust: Whereas security might come secondary to ease of use for a project management software, it is top priority for other industries. If you’re in one of those industries, note the trust signals in the ad copy above, like we’ve helped over 1,000,000 people, over 1m lawyer reviews, and over $10+billion won for clients, along with star ratings.
• Use diligent words: Counter to our ad copy in the previous example, availability and speed are key for service-based offerings. In the ad copy above you’ll see our attorneys are prepared, experienced trial lawyers, available 24/7, and lawyer will answer in minutes.
• Reduce risk: Help potential customers feel comfortable with choosing you with phrases like pay nothing unless we win, find a top-rated fraud attorney, no fee unless you win, free case evaluation, and skip costly co-pays.
• Verbs! Notice once again the use of verbs to highlight the features and benefits: find, skip, pay, etc.
• Implied emotion: Emotional marketing doesn’t necessarily mean using emotional words and phrases. In this case, it’s clear these ads are designed to elicit confidence, reassurance, and relief from worry, but you don’t see those words in the ad copy. You see answer in minutes, prepared to hear your case, and get the legal representation they deserve.

Conversational ad copy

This last Google ad copy example helps to capture attention with two tactics: asking a question and using conversational language. SpyFu’s Are You Kidding? conveys that unlimited data, projects, and keywords at half the price is a big deal.

Takeaway: Try using a phrase or word that your ideal customers would say out loud or to themself—you could find a way to resonate here.

For more help with your Google ad copy, check out these seven ways to write super-effective Google ads.

Display ad copy examples

Display ads are the most visual of online ads since there aren’t designated sections for text as you see with social media ads. The best display ads pack a punch with the fewest number of words.

The use of “yet”

“Yet” is an excellent word to keep in your ad copy vocabulary. In the example below, Mailchimp offers Advanced, yet easy tools.

Takeaway: Use “yet” to communicate the “I want this but without that” preferences of your customers. You can also try similar variations like X without the Y or X, not Y.

Rhyming ad copy

This ad copy reads Keep work flowing and games going.

So it’s not abundantly clear what is being advertised here, but does this ad not invite a click to find out?

Takeaway: Less can be more. The large font, appealing image, and bright CTA button in this ad invite you to click. Plus, the use of rhyming here gives these six words memorable power.

Bragging ad copy

This ad is text-heavy but it works. Instead of saying, “View our success story with California State University,” Unisys writes:

It’s not easy to make 400,000 students happy.
But that’s what we did for California State University with our cloud solutions.
We do cloud really well.

Takeaways

• If you’re going to brag about your business in your ad copy, brag about it in a customer-centric way, as Unisys does in the example above.
• With a large number, an emotional word, a smiling face, and a clean design, you really can turn an otherwise boring offer into something attention-grabbing. We’ve got lots of display ad design tips here.

Plain & simple ad copy

Creative ads are fun but not always necessary. This ad by LinkedIn is straight to the point and speaks to its intended audience: virtual sellers.

Find new ways to connect with your buyers, virtually. Get started.

Takeaway: Un-creativity is a copywriting strategy too! Try out plainly stating your value proposition to speak directly to your audience. For more, check out our eight best ad copywriting tips (ever!).

Instagram ad copy examples

Alright, now is the time to get into the creative zone. The best Instagram ads are primarily visual, but there are options to add text to the image and your caption. Let’s go over some Instagram ad copy examples to inspire you.

Influencer ad copy

This type of ad copy is perhaps the simplest form of influencer marketing on Instagram. This Nike ad copy reads:

Always $100 and under
The Nike Reposto are mad versatile.”- Beija Marie Velez

Takeaway: Obviously not everyone is Nike but if you can get a known name in your niche to review your product, only a few words are needed—the name is where the power lies.

Playful ad copy

The cute department on Instagram is one of the largest, so Halos is smart to connect its product to cute animal photos with its Instagram video ad. The text on the image reads:

What’s sweeter than sweet? Baby goats are sweet…But not the sweetest…Nothing’s sweeter than Halos.

The caption reads:

Baby goats are sweet, but Halos are bursting with Vitamin C (and they won’t eat your favorite shirt). #WorldsSweetestMandarins

Takeaway: Think about adjectives that describe your product or service and then what kinds of appealing, Instagram-friendly images those words can also describe—and you just may have a fun series to work with, like this one! (Halos also has variations with fluffy baby ducks and unexpected animal friendships.)

Feature-benefit ad copy

Features and benefits are staples in just about every copywriting formula. This Instagram ad copy example leads with the benefit (healthy, glowing skin in large, all caps font) then shares the features that make the benefit possible (hyaluronic acid, glycerin, pro vitamin B5).

Takeaway: Consumers aren’t likely to know what those terms mean, even with the explanations, but the specificity is what sells. This is tip #17 in my post on how to write copy that sells.

Facebook ad copy examples

Your Facebook ad creative is the star of the show, but that doesn’t mean the other components of the ad aren’t important. Here are some Facebook ad copy examples to give you ideas for your text, image text, headlines, and descriptions.

Eye-opening ad copy

Goodbuy’s ad copy falls into a few categories: informative, values-based, and storytelling. Let’s take a look. The ad text reads:

Over 200,000 small businesses permanently closed due to the pandemic, on top of the 500,000+ that close year-over-year. All the while, the U.S. e-commerce marketplace is an $billion dollar industry where 70% of all that spending goes directly into the pockets of 15 mega-retailers 😥

The text in the video creative itself says:

• Crazy fact: 70% of all US online spending goes directly into the pockets of 15 mega-retailers
• Meanwhile, 2.1 million small businesses (selling those same products) end up on page 10 of your search results
• Say hello to the easy button for conscious shopping.
• Add goodbuy – it’s free!

View the full video ad here.

Takeaways

• Storytelling is easier than you think. We hear this suggestion all the time, but what does it actually mean? Here, it means presenting compelling information in the form of a short video. There is little to no imagery—just appealing font design and animation to keep you engaged.
• Use “free” freely. This is one of the best words to use in your ad copy, even if it’s already obvious that your offering is free.
• There are different ways to address your audience. Whereas the LinkedIn display ad above addresses its audience by referring to “your buyers,” goodbuy does so with adjectives (socially conscious).

Emojional ad copy

Yeah I made up a word there. But it stands for ad copy that evokes emotion and also has emojis. in the example below, we read

Finally, a social media calendar tool that your team will ACTUALLY love 😍
Sign up for a free trial today

Takeaways

• Use emojis. Scroll through your Facebook feed and you will find that many, if not all of the ad copy you see has emojis in it (unless that’s just me). Emojis are perfect for conversational copywriting and giving your text the pop it needs. And they don’t need to be emotional emojis. If you’re a restaurant, give the eggplant-moji a whirl. Contractors, that hard hat is hard to miss. Many advertisers also use emojis instead of bullet points in their copy.
• Use “actually.” This word holds power. Use it to surface something you know about your audience (the employee handbook you’ll actually read), to be conversational (how to buy a house (like, actually)), or in this case, to show your confidence that what you’re offering is truly unique.

Linkedin ad copy examples

And last, but not least, we have LinkedIn ad copy examples. If you’re not already advertising on this channel, check out our LinkedIn advertising cheatsheet—it’s got everything you need to get started.

Success story ad copy

FICO’s LinkedIn ad copy reads:

Mercury insurance needed smarter, more automated decisions, but their underwriters aren’t tech experts. FICO Platform was the answer.

The creative itself includes a customer quote of “Partnering with FICO has transformed Mercury” and a blue Download now button. Then we see a different headline for each carousel card:

• The FICO platform empowers business…(gets cut off)
• Users can make and tweak rules without IT.
• FICO improved Mercury’s results, freeing IT.
• Download the case study to learn more!

Takeaways

• Think results! The formula for a success story isn’t just problem-solution. It’s problem (customer’s pain point), solution (what you did to resolve it), result (what additional success the customer is seeing now that their problem is gone).
• Stay in your lane. To get the most out of your copy, stay within character counts so nothing gets cut off.

Compassionate ad copy

In this ad from Eversource, the copy reads:

New England: As the temperatures drop, the increased demand for energy is driving up the cost of natural gas.

Then we see an illustration of a cold person followed by a headline of:

Eversource is here to help customers manage their bills.

Takeaway: Ads aren’t just for to-be customers. You can promote a free guide or service to your existing customers to engage them and send a reminder that you care. As you can see with the ad above, compassionate ad copy doesn’t have to be mushy gushy. It can be quite factual, in fact (pun intended). The idea is to show your awareness and understanding of the situation at hand.

Inquisitive ad copy

This LinkedIn ad reads:

Why did HubSpot list Chargebee as one of the 16 top apps for CRM customization? Read our blog to find out.

Followed by a link to the post and the hashtags #CRM, #fintech, and #subscriptions.

• Takeaway: Try out the open loop. Whether we’re reading a suspense novel or doing billing operations, we are drawn into cliffhangers (aka open loops). This is any sort of tidbit of information that is just enough to give the reader an idea of what to expect, but not nearly enough for them to feel satisfied. Their brain will naturally want to close the loop and therefore click through to see the answer, even if it’s, well, boring. This is one of my methods of copywriting psychology you should use regularly.

Use these ad copy examples as your launchpad

The good news? You now have lots of ideas in your ad copy arsenal. The bad news? You now no longer have an excuse for boring ads.

---