10 Ad Hook Styles Marketers Swear By In 2025

A strong ad hook decides whether someone stops or scrolls. It can be a question, a bold claim, or a stat that sparks curiosity. Marketers use proven formats to match the right message to the right funnel stage. This guide breaks down 10 types of ad hooks and how to use them with real examples.

In this article, we’ll cover: 

• What marketing hooks are
• 10 styles to try, with marketing hook examples
• Tools for writing and testing hooks for digital marketing

Let’s start by discussing what a marketing hook is.

What is a marketing hook? 

A marketing hook is the first thing your audience sees or hears in an ad. It's designed to stop the viewer from scrolling, hold attention, and set up the rest of your message.

In video ads, the hook might be a line of dialogue, a striking visual, or even silence. In static ads, it could be the headline or overlay text. What matters is how quickly it connects to your audience and their interests, problems, and identity.

A good ad hook doesn’t try to explain everything. It creates tension, curiosity, or recognition that makes someone want to keep watching or reading.

Hook vs offer: What’s the difference?

The difference between a hook and an offer is in what they’re meant to do. A hook grabs attention by triggering curiosity, emotion, or identity. An offer gives someone a reason to take action, like a discount, free trial, or limited-time deal.

For example, “Tired of your CRM slowing you down?” is a hook. “Get 14 days free, no credit card required” is the offer that follows.

What a high-converting hook looks like

A high-converting ad hook pulls people in fast. It makes them feel something, ask a question, or see themselves in the message. The strongest hooks usually tap into one of four triggers:

• Curiosity: “This one change cut our customer acquisition cost in half” creates an open loop that makes people want the answer.
  
  
• Urgency: “Final hours to claim your bonus credits” pushes action with a clear deadline.
  
  
• Relatability: “If you run ads and feel like nothing’s working, read this” mirrors how the viewer already feels.
  
  
• Social proof: “Used by 12,000 founders and growing” builds instant trust by showing scale.

Copywriters apply these triggers using formats like “question + proof,” “problem + solution,” or “hot take + benefit.”

10 ad hook styles you can try 

High-performing ads start with hook styles that match how people scroll, think, and decide. Each of these formats works for a reason, and you’ll see them across every ad platform:

1. Curiosity and open loops

Curiosity hooks get attention by creating tension. They give just enough information to spark interest, then make the viewer wait for the answer. 

For example, an ad that starts with “This ad ran for 72 hours before we turned it off” makes people wonder what went wrong or what happened next. 

2. Social proof hooks

Social proof hooks work by showing that others already trust the product. An ad might say “Used by 4,200 marketers this month” or “Featured in TechCrunch and Adweek” to build instant credibility. 

These details help reduce friction because the viewer sees that other people have already taken the same step. Marketers use these hooks to build trust fast by showing that others have already taken the leap.

3. Pain-point reversals

These hooks flip a common frustration into a question or bold statement. Saying “Still chasing leads that never reply?” speaks directly to a known pain. The reversal comes when the ad promises a better outcome, like “Here’s how we fixed that in one week.” When pain is specific, these hooks do well in mid-funnel campaigns where the viewer already knows the problem.

4. Identity-based hooks

Identity hooks call out a role, belief, or behavior. For example, “If you’re a founder who hates selling” targets a clear type of person. The goal is to make the viewer feel seen before offering a solution.

These hooks often perform well on Facebook and Instagram because of how the platform ranks engagement. When people see an ad that directly reflects their job title, behavior, or mindset, they’re more likely to stop scrolling. And when people stop scrolling, that signals relevance to the algorithm. 

Higher relevance scores can improve delivery and lower costs, especially in retargeting and lookalike audiences.

5. Contrarian or hot take hooks

These hooks grab attention by challenging popular beliefs. A line like “Most productivity apps waste your time” makes a bold claim that invites people to engage or disagree. 

The risk is higher here, but so is the reward if the take feels fresh.

6. Transformation hooks

Transformation hooks show before-and-after outcomes. “We went from 3 clients to 48 in two months,” tells a story of change in one line. 

These work particularly well in testimonials, UGC, or founder-led ads, where you can show the process. 

7. Numbers and specificity

Numbers make ads feel more real. A hook like “How we hit 4.27x return on ad spend using only static images” is more believable than “We grew fast.” Specificity also helps set expectations, which means fewer drop-offs.

8. Humor or meme hooks

Humor works when it reflects something true. An ad that opens with “Running Facebook ads got me like” followed by a tired dog or chaotic office scene connects emotionally through humor. 

This type of hook performs well at the top of the funnel when the goal is engagement. 

9. Question-based hooks

Good questions stop the viewer’s scrolling by matching what they are already wondering. A question like “Is your ad performance dropping for no reason?” hits hard if someone is seeing poor results. 

These hooks work well in retargeting or lower-funnel ads because they mirror the user’s current state. Weak questions tend to be too broad, like “Want better ads?”

10. Pattern breakers

Pattern breakers use visual or audio disruption to stop attention. A video that starts with silence, a sudden zoom, or an unusual scene makes the brain pause. Marketers use pattern breakers on TikTok and YouTube Shorts to grab attention in the first second, when people are most likely to scroll past. 

Choose the right hook for your funnel stage

Different hooks work better at different stages of the funnel. Matching the message to intent helps you avoid wasting impressions on people who aren’t ready. Here’s a quick primer on what hook to try depending on your funnel stage:

Tools for writing and testing better hooks 

Some tools help you review past creative. Others focus on writing new hooks or checking performance after launch. Here are some helpful options:

How Bestever scores hook performance (and fatigue risk)

Bestever scores your ad hooks by looking at how real viewers respond after launch. It tracks performance signals like hold rate, drop-off timing, and visual engagement. Then it compares each creative to your account’s top performers to spot patterns in what’s working.

Scoring looks at three things:

• Hook strength: Does the opening keep attention longer than average?
  
  
• CTA clarity: Is the viewer clear on what to do next by the end of the ad?
  
  
• Ad and creative fatigue risk: Is the same hook or format being reused too often?
  

Marketers use these scores to flag underperforming hooks early. On Mondays, a team might review their new ads, filter by hook type, and see which messages lost steam. Then they can remix the intro, tighten the copy, or swap in a stronger pattern without changing the whole creative.

Frequently asked questions

What’s an example of a good marketing hook?

A good marketing hook is a line that grabs attention and makes people want to keep watching. One example is: “We tried this one change and sales doubled in 7 days.” It works because it blends curiosity, a specific outcome, and emotional payoff.

Can I reuse ad hooks across different channels?

You can reuse ad hooks across channels, but they may not perform the same. A curiosity hook that works on TikTok might fall flat on LinkedIn, where tone and audience intent are different. When reusing a hook, adapt the visual format and message delivery to fit each platform’s behavior.

How do I test which hook works best?

The best way to test ad hooks is to launch multiple creatives with only the hook changed. Then compare performance using metrics like hold rate, click-through rate, and conversion events. Bestever makes this easier by scoring hook strength directly in your ad audit report, so you can see what worked last time and apply those patterns going forward.

What makes an ad hook fatigue quickly?

Ad hooks fatigue when they get repeated too often or stop feeling fresh to your audience. If the message shows up in too many creatives or feels overly broad, performance can drop fast. Bestever detects fatigue by comparing new creatives to older ones using the same intro or format, and flags them inside your dashboard.

What tool helps me optimize my hooks?

The best tool for optimizing your hooks after launch is Bestever. It scores each creative based on real viewer behavior and highlights what to improve. You’ll also get creative guidelines based on your past data, so your next round of ads starts stronger. For ongoing testing, the ad audit feature helps you track hook types, fatigue, and CTA strength in one place.

How Bestever helps you improve every ad hook

If your ad hook isn’t working, the rest of the creative won’t matter. You might have the right offer, the right audience, or even the right visuals, but without a strong hook, attention drops fast. That’s where many teams get stuck. Bestever helps you fix that by showing what’s actually working in your hooks and why.

Bestever is a creative analysis tool that helps you score, compare, and improve ad hooks using real performance data. Here’s how:

• Analyze your ads' effectiveness: Bestever’s Ad Analysis Dashboard gives you instant feedback on an ad's visual impact, brand alignment, sales orientation, and audience engagement. It’ll even break down each element in detail. 
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• Get suggestions to improve every frame: If an ad isn’t hitting the mark, ask Bestever to tell you what’s wrong and get instant, actionable suggestions on what to do to fix it. No more guessing or wasting time, your team can start fixing those issues asap. 
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• Understand your audience: Bestever’s audience analysis tools go beyond sharing standard demographics, helping refine both targeting and messaging. You can share your website URL or integrate it with your ad manager, and it’ll quickly let you know who wants to hear more from you. 
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• Rapid asset generation: Fetch AI-generated images, stock photos, and video clips that all fit your brand voice. Then you can share the creatives with your team to make multiple ad variations faster.
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• Instant feedback loop: Know immediately why an ad variant underperforms, then pivot before wasting your budget.

Ready to improve your hooks with real data? Let our team show you how Bestever can help you create faster, test smarter, and build ads people watch.

Schedule a free demo of Bestever now.