[2 Shorts Tuesday] 💵 Cost destruction, curiosity loops, and zero hard selling

Want to see some YouTube Shorts ads that are scaling right now?

You’re in luck…

Because today is 2 Shorts Tuesday. Why YouTube Shorts ads?

Because YouTube Shorts ad inventory is only going to keep growing:

…And critically, most DTC & Direct Response advertisers are still under-leveraging YouTube Shorts as an ad placement.

(and the upside is huge)

So, what are some ways you can succeed with YouTube Shorts ads?

Let’s take a closer look at 2 YouTube Shorts ads doing well right now:

☕ 🍄 Ad 1: MUD\WTR: "Why Buy Six When You Can Buy One"

Our first ad pick for this week is this interesting ad by the widely known brand MUD\WTR, check it out:

Core idea:

The founder opens with a value destruction sequence — rattling off six popular supplements one by one, each solving a different problem, each costing money separately.

Then he pivots: you can just have this.

The rest of the ad is proof stacking on repeat: ingredients on screen, people drinking it, review counts, retail distribution, and a loaded free offer to close.

The founder talking directly to camera the entire time makes it feel less like an ad and more like a tip from a friend who happens to run the company. 🍄

Why it works:

• 💰 The math hook does the heavy lifting: "Buying all this separately costs around $30 every single day" reframes the price comparison before the viewer even knows what's being sold. By the time the product appears, the viewer is already doing the mental arithmetic in your favor.
  

• 🧪 Ingredient name-dropping as social proof: Lion's mane, cordyceps, reishi — these aren't filler words. For a health-conscious audience, hearing these names builds instant credibility. The ad essentially says we already speak your language.
  

• 👤 Founder energy, not actor energy: The camo cap, the wooden cabin backdrop, the slightly rough delivery — this is a person who believes in the product, not someone performing belief. That texture is hard to fake and audiences feel it.
  

• 📺 B-roll inserts reinforce every claim: Every time he mentions an ingredient or benefit, a visual cuts in — the canister with ingredients listed, people drinking it, the 60,000 five-star reviews on screen. The ad never asks you to just trust words alone.
  

• 🎁 The offer is stacked, not simple: Free frother + free shipping + 45 days of breathwork and meditation classes from Open. It's not a discount — it's a bundle that feels like you'd be crazy to say no.
  

Creative beats to swipe:

1. Open with a "what if you had to buy all this separately" cost breakdown before revealing the product.

2. Name-drop ingredients your audience already trusts while showing them on screen simultaneously.

3. Founder/creator talking to camera the whole time — no voiceover, no polish, just conviction.

4. Cut in UGC clips of real people drinking/using the product mid-monologue.

5. Stack the offer at the end: don't just say "buy it" — list everything they get with the purchase.

This advertiser has a great, polished-looking landing page in use, here’s a quick scroll:

🔬 Ad 2:  Handheld Microscope: Curiosity Sold in 20 Seconds

Our second ad pick for this week is this interesting microscope ad, check it out:

Core idea:

A woman picks up what she frames as a kid's toy — then proceeds to show you the most unexpectedly beautiful things you've never thought to look at: salt crystals, a dollar bill's security thread, her own hair magnified 1,000x..

The whole ad is a live curiosity loop - every shot makes you want to see the next one.

A woman closes the ad with a soft urgency nudge — it goes on sale sometimes, don't pay full price. That's the entire formula! 🧂

Why it works:

• 😲 The "kid's toy" disqualifier is a brilliant setup: Opening by calling it a kid's toy is a pattern interrupt that immediately triggers the question "wait, then why are you showing it to me?" It also preemptively handles the objection that it looks cheap or gimmicky.
  

• 👁️ The demo IS the ad: There's no product description needed. Salt crystals under a microscope look alien and stunning. A fingerprint on a dollar bill looks like art. Hair looks like rope. The visuals are doing 90% of the persuasion work — the presenter barely has to say anything.
  

• 🔄 Rapid variety keeps the scroll finger frozen: Salt → dollar bill → hair → computer upload. Each new surface is a micro-reward that keeps attention locked for one more second. It's dopamine-loop content disguised as an ad.
  

• 💻 The "upload to computer" beat expands the perceived value: This one detail makes it feel less like a toy and more like a tool. It upgrades the product in the viewer's mind mid-watch.
  

• 🏷️ Soft urgency without pressure: "Don't pay full price — they put it on sale sometimes" is frictionless. It's the kind of thing a friend texts you, not a brand. It converts curious viewers into deal-hunters without a hard sell.
  

To finish off with, here’s a quick look at this advertiser’s advertorial-type lander in use:

With that, we’re all done for this week! 🚀

We hope this week’s selection of high-performing YouTube Shorts ads has sparked new ideas to test yourself!

Want more insights like these?

Stay tuned for next week’s VidTao 2 Shorts Tuesday…

…where we’ll continue breaking down winning YouTube Shorts Ads you can break down + model for your own creatives & campaigns.

And btw… If you have questions about YouTube ads or YouTube Shorts ads in particular?

Go here to schedule a free chat with our friends at Inceptly. Inceptly is a top Direct Response video ad agency, specializing in high-performing YouTube ad creatives & media buying.

Have a great week!

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