So, before going further, let us understand what these brands do and why I picked them in fitness and health tracking. They have similar jobs to be done, and the costs are also very similar.
The Oura Ring uses body temperature, blood oxygen levels, heart rate and heart rate variability, and breathing rate to determine which stage you’re in at any given moment while you sleep — and how long you spend before transitioning to the next.
WHOOP strain is a measure of cardiovascular exertion that quantifies the amount of physical and mental stress you’re putting on your body. We track your strain on a 0-21 scale, both for your entire day and for specific workouts and activities. WHOOP measures your strain on a 0-21 scale. Whoop does differentiate itself as a coach.
A Fitbit is a device that people can wear around their wrist to measure their daily steps, heart rate, and more. There are several types of Fitbits, with different features and styles.
In my opinion, Whoop is for fitness lovers, while other products are for most people. Keep this distinction in mind while we evaluate the ads for these brands.
Ads that appeal
Caveat: I’ll be only picking slightly older ads that are still “active” – they tell me those ads are performing “well”. We’ll be evaluating two to three of the best video ads and some single-image ads.
Oura Ring
Oura Ring is a fashion statement as well as a health tracker. In my opinion, this is a perfect venn diagram.
So, clearly, if you can make your ads a “fashion statement,” then do so, here are some examples:
I heard that most fitness ads are moving to B2B — and they still make sure that B2B gets fashion concept too.
One thing that’s clearly noticeable about Oura ads in paid social is that they have “rarely” used human talking heads or faces.
Below you can find “feature-based ads”. What did conventional marketing say? Sell outcomes, not features. Well, Oura said F that.
Another feature-based ad that drives mobile viewers:
It just tells me that when you are truly selling an innovative product, you can beat the norm. Specially when you really need to educate the market.
But Oura did focus on problem-led ads too. Here’s one of them:
The script is very simple:
“Carby cravings can be hard to curb. With your Oura Ring, you can learn how to sleep better and balance your hunger in fullness the whole night.”
So let’s break it down:
Problem: Carby cravings can be hard to curb.
Solution: With your Oura Ring, you can learn how to sleep better and balance your hunger.
This ad has 71K+ likes, which means that this 6-second ad did get the message through.
So here are my takeaways:
- You can use 6 seconds to sell the idea and solution just enough for users to have a curiosity to learn more
- Feature-led ads are fine if they are innovative
- If possible, think about how your product can stand out as a “fashion” statement
Whoop 4.0
Before starting Whoop, I wanted to share my referral link with you. You get a 1-month free with your first purchase. I highly recommend you try it if you like it.
Whoop is superior to the Apple Watch simply because it has a longer battery life.
While Oura was all about features and innovation, Whoop went in another direction. This was surprising to me.
Whoop also had fewer single-image ads that pop, they went with more social proof.
Here’s our first ad:
What do we notice:
- Thumbnail with the product and crazy reaction
- Showing all sports activities in the first 5 seconds – The hook
- Then introducing the “Whoop Athlete”
- And then adding humor to it “Not exactly”
But before moving, let’s look at the script:
Whoop made it simple:
- Hooking the attention with the life we want to have (desire)
- Adding humor a little
- Sharing benefits
- Selling on one idea – Anyone can be an athlete or at least feel like them
- Use creator whitelisting ads
What a fun ad!
Let’s look at another one with the script again.
This time, they actually used an athlete. You know – Whoop knows our internal desire to be an athlete. This ad has 73K+ likes, btw.
So here are my takeaways:
- If using credibility start with the punch, no hook is needed sometimes (there was a change dress – could be a hook)
- Show, don’t tell – very well used with exercise and reactions to it
- Take many B-rolls with your creator to show the life of an athlete
Fitbit
They are the OGs of health tracking, so I had to look into them and how they sell on paid social. Before going further, I do want to share that Fitbit wasn’t in the picture, but after scrolling through their ad library, they made the cut.
One thing you’ll notice in all of their ads, they are no more than 30 seconds.
Can you believe this ad has over 3 million likes? There is no script. It’s selling a single concept, ”ListenToYourBody” while picking up on pop culture trends.
Entertain while you can. Sometimes you don’t need to speak; just show.
Similar ad: How to start your day (psychological cues)
Fitbit is clearly selling its unique feature, i.e., the Daily Readiness Score, and all ads are pointing towards it.
The creator is saying:
There are definitely days when I am like, “do I wanna lift waits and go run on a treadmill right now?” — This is a common question that people have when they go to training.
Usually, the answer is no, and how to make it “guilt-free” – Check your Daily Readiness score.
So here are my takeaways from Fitbit:
- You can entertain and sell the concept without speaking or using a talking head
- Your ads can be fun if you know how to do it
- Ask the most “common” question that people are thinking in their head and use it as a hook
- Make shorter – one single idea-feature-based ad that makes people “wow”
Bringing it home, I feel that there is no straight playbook. But what was so good to see was that these ads were so different from each other. Every brand stands out with what they stand for, and their tactics are different. But the good news is, we can learn from them and apply to our brands.
Now It’s Your Time to Decide.
Let me know which brand’s ad you liked the most by simply responding.
Cast your vote for a chance to win!
Respond with:
- A – Oura Ring
- B – Whoop
- C – Fitbit
The winner gets the paid social mastermind yearly subscription, a free audit, and a paid strategy call with me, worth €997.
_________________________
Happy Growing with Paid Social,
Aazar Shad