Ad creative studio

Ad Creative Studio

Turn intelligence into finished, on-brand ad creative — static images or video. This is where Ranql's analysis becomes actual ads the firm can run.

Prerequisites (gather these first)

1. Brand kit — from brand-kit-extractor (colors, fonts, logo, imagery style, voice). If Canva has a saved Brand Kit, check list-brand-kits and prefer it.
2. Competitor teardown — from competitor-ad-teardown (proven winning angles + spin recommendations).
3. Hook & CTA banks — from organic-content-analyzer (proven language).
4. Offer — the firm's actual offer (free consult, no-fee-unless-we-win, a guarantee). Ask if unknown.

The creative principle: spin, don't copy

Never clone a competitor's ad. Take the proven structure (a 90+-day winner's angle) and make it better for this firm: a sharper hook, stronger proof (their real results/awards), a better offer, and a format the market underuses. You're standing on what's proven and adding an edge. Legally and strategically: original creative, borrowed insight.

Step 1 — Write the brief (before you touch Canva)

For each ad, decide:

• Angle — which proven angle, spun how (from the teardown's spin recommendations).
• Hook / headline — from the hook bank, sharpened for this firm. Punchier than their website voice.
• Primary text / body — the promise + proof + CTA. Match the brand voice.
• CTA — the conversion CTA (from the CTA bank).
• Visual concept — what's on the image: the emotional register from the brand kit's imagery style, brand colors on the key elements, logo placement, and the ONE thing the eye lands on. Match the market's format expectation but differentiate the execution.
• Format & ratio — 1:1 (feed), 4:5 (feed, more real estate), 9:16 (stories/reels). Generate the ratios the campaign needs.

Draft 2–4 concepts per angle so there's something to test. See references/ad-brief-template.md and references/legal-ad-patterns.md.

Step 1b — Ask: static, video, or both?

Before building, ask the user which they want. Both convert; video usually wins in PI/injury but costs more to produce.

• Static (image ads) — you produce the finished creative here and now.
• Video — go to Step 3 (Video). You'll deliver a script + shot-by-shot storyboard, and either hand it to the firm to film, or generate it programmatically if HeyGen (or similar) is connected.
• Both — do static now, then storyboard the video.

Step 2 — Build the static creative (Canva if available, else Claude design)

Prefer Canva when it's connected (the firm can then edit it themselves):

1. list-brand-kits — if the firm has a saved Canva Brand Kit, use it (exact assets, one step).
2. generate-design / create-design-from-brand-template — create the ad at the target ratio, feeding the brief: headline, body, exact brand hex, fonts, logo.
3. perform-editing-operations — refine: exact brand hex on key elements, accent color on the CTA button, logo in a consistent corner, tighten text.
4. Generate the variations (hooks/visuals) and ratios (1:1, 4:5, 9:16) the campaign needs.
5. export-design — export PNG/JPG and share the editable Canva link.

If Canva isn't connected (or has no usable brand kit), render with Claude's own design skills — build the ad as clean HTML/CSS with the exact brand hex + web-fonts, then render to PNG (headless Chrome / a render tool). This produces production-quality creative you fully control. When you do:

• Be exacting about alignment and hierarchy — consistent margins, one clear focal point, the hook readable at a glance, the logo and compliance line placed the same way every time. Sloppy alignment is the tell of a bad ad; hold a high bar.
• Watch the render — actually view the exported PNG and check the fonts loaded, nothing is cut off, and it's on-brand. Re-render if it's off.
• Invite iteration — show the user, and if they give feedback ("logo bigger", "different hook", "warmer tone"), revise and re-render. Treat the first render as a draft, not the final word.

Either path: match the brand kit exactly — brand hex on key elements, accent on the CTA, heading font for the hook, logo consistent. On-brand is non-negotiable; a firm's ads should look like the firm (and often better than their current ones — check whether their live ads are even on-brand).

Step 3 — Video creative (script + storyboard, or generate it)

When the user wants video:

1. Write the script — hook (first 3 seconds decide everything), problem, proof, offer, CTA. Keep it to 15–30s for feed/reels. Pull the hook from the proven organic/ad hooks. Match the brand voice.
2. Storyboard it — shot by shot: what's on screen, on-screen text (bold captions win — most watch muted), b-roll vs talking-head, brand colors, logo/CTA end-card. Note where the firm's real footage/attorney goes.
3. Then either:
   • Hand it to the firm — give them the script + storyboard + shot list so they (or a videographer) can film it. This is the default when no video tool is connected.
   • Generate it programmatically — if HeyGen (or a similar avatar/video MCP) is connected, produce the talking-head/spokesperson video from the script directly (avatar, voice, captions, brand end-card). If it's not connected, offer to connect it: "I can generate this video automatically if you connect HeyGen — want me to walk you through it?"

Video script/storyboard template: references/video-storyboard-template.md.

Step 4 — Save the creatives where the firm can find them, and tell them where

Always save every finished creative to a clear, findable folder — and give the user the exact location at the end. Non-technical users can't find files in a temp path.

• Save to a named folder in an obvious place: e.g. ~/Downloads/<Firm Name> - Ad Creatives/ (or the project folder if working in one).
• Use clear filenames: ad-01-positioning-1x1.png, ad-02-educational-9x16.png, plus the source (HTML/Canva link) and the brief.
• End your message with the folder path, e.g. "All 3 creatives are saved in ~/Downloads/Weinberger - Ad Creatives/ — open that folder to review them."
• If you used Canva, also give the editable Canva links.

Quality bar before handing off

• Colors are the firm's exact hex (not "close enough")
• Alignment/hierarchy is clean; one clear focal point; hook readable at a glance
• Logo present, legible, consistent placement
• Hook is sharper than the competitor's proven version, not a copy
• Claim is defensible (see legal-ad-patterns.md — attorney-advertising rules)
• CTA is clear and matches the offer
• Rendered/exported in every ratio the campaign needs; you actually viewed the output
• Saved to a findable folder; the user was told the exact path
• Open to iteration if the user has feedback

Compliance guardrail

Legal advertising is regulated (state bar rules). Avoid guarantees of outcome, misleading superlatives, and unqualified "best/#1" claims. Include "Attorney Advertising" where required. Flag anything risky for the firm to confirm — do not ship claims the firm can't back. See references/legal-ad-patterns.md.

Next: landing-page-builder (so the ad has somewhere to send people), then campaign-builder to assemble the buy and upload to Meta.