AdAdvisor Creative Skill: Test and Refresh Meta Ad Creative

The AdAdvisor creative skill handles testing frameworks, refresh cadence, hook strategy, and the MCP workflow for sourcing assets without losing social proof. Creative drives 70% to 89% of Meta (Facebook) ad performance per AppsFlyer 2025 and Nielsen. Targeting won. Bidding won. Creative is what’s left to compete on, and it’s also the silent killer when neglected.

When should I use the creative skill?

Triggers on phrases like:

“Test ads”
“Creative”
“Refresh creatives”
“Fatigue”
“What to make next”
“New creative”
“Test new hooks”
“Ads are stale”
“Swap creative”
“Upload images”
“Find images”
“UGC”

Which creative testing framework should I use?

The skill picks the right framework based on where you are in the discovery curve:

Framework	Structure	When to use
3-3-3 (Pilothouse)	3 concepts × 3 formats × 3 hooks = 27 combinations	Brand-new product or angle. Maps the territory.
3-2-2 (Tichenor)	3 creatives × 2 primary texts × 2 headlines = 12 variants	Established angle. Validates which variant wins.
5-3-1 (Ben & Vic / Motion)	5 hook variations × 3 body variations × 1 CTA	Post-winner refinement. Milks the angle.
Hook → Body → CTA hierarchy	Test hooks first (5 to 8 hooks, identical body and CTA). Winner gets iterated bodies, then iterated CTAs.	Methodical buyer with budget. Finds the load-bearing element.

Tichenor’s own September 2025 caveat: “I was wrong about 3:2:2. Meta’s Andromeda update changed it. Top advertisers are ramping up creative production, testing multiple concepts per segment.” The skill treats 3-2-2 as a floor, not a ceiling.

How often should I refresh Meta ad creative?

Volume of net-new concepts matters more than total ad count. Brands that produce four new concepts a week beat brands with 50 stale ads.

Daily spend	Refresh cadence	New concepts per cycle
$100 to$ 200 a day	Every 2 to 3 weeks	1 to 2
$200 to$ 1,000 a day	Every 7 to 14 days	2 to 3
$1,000 to$ 10,000 a day	Every 7 to 10 days	4 to 6
$10,000+ a day	Weekly	4 to 6 net-new

How do I read Meta creative performance?

The funnel inherited from diagnose:

Metric	Healthy	What it tells you
Hook Rate (3-sec / impressions)	25% to 35%	Did people stop scrolling?
Hold Rate (15-sec / 3-sec)	40% to 50%	Did they stay through the body?
CTR (link clicks / impressions)	1.0% to 1.8%	Did the body and CTA convince them to click?

The skill maps which signal moved to which fix:

Hook problem. Fix the first 1 to 3 seconds. Replace the hook, keep the body.
Hold problem. Fix the transition from hook to body. The hook overpromised or the body was boring.
Click problem. Fix the CTA, value prop, or visual confidence.

How does the AdAdvisor MCP creative workflow work?

Two paths, depending on whether the asset already exists.

Path A: reuse or find existing

adadvisor:search_ad_images(queries=['...']) → image hashes via the asset picker widget
adadvisor:preview_existing_creatives(image_hash=...) → if has engagement, reuse via existing_post
adadvisor:create_creative(...) → image_link, video, or existing_post format

The preview_existing_creatives step is critical. Promoting a post with 432 reactions / 87 comments via existing_post format preserves that social proof. Uploading the same image as a fresh ad loses it.

Path B: upload new asset

adadvisor:upload_creatives(account_id) → opens upload widget
(widget drives init_upload + S3 PUT + complete_upload internally)
adadvisor:create_creative(...) → with the returned image_hash or video_id

Limits: image up to 30 MB, video up to 4 GB. Allowed types: JPEG, PNG, MP4, MOV.

What aspect ratio and video length should Meta creative use?

Aspect ratio	Where it lives	Status
4:5 (portrait, 1080 × 1350)	Feed (FB + IG)	Default for Feed
9:16 (vertical, 1080 × 1920)	Reels, Stories	Mandatory in 2026
1:1 (square, 1080 × 1080)	Cross-placement fallback	Safety net
16:9 (horizontal)	Audience Network only	Dead in 2026

Video length sweet spot: 5 to 15 seconds. Meta auto-loops videos up to 30 seconds for 90 seconds of total view time. Short ads get replayed, accumulating impressions without feeling long.

What anti-patterns does the creative skill prevent?

Generating creatives without reading brand context

Brand tone, colors, and key selling points live in your AdAdvisor business context. The skill reads them first and grounds every copy recommendation in them.

Reusing image hashes from previous sessions

Image hashes are session-scoped. The skill always fetches fresh via search_ad_images or complete_upload in the current conversation.

Setting is_dynamic_creative: true with 3 ads

Dynamic Creative ad sets accept exactly ONE ad. Multi-variant copy lives in that one creative’s messages, headlines, and descriptions arrays (max 5 each).

Killing a creative after 24 hours

Defers to the diagnose skill’s kill rule: 3x target CPA with zero conversions over the right account-size window.

Re-uploading a viral organic post as a fresh ad

Loses the social proof. The skill uses format: 'existing_post' with the post URL or object_story_id instead.

Building 16:9 horizontal videos for Reels

Letterboxed with black bars. The skill requires 9:16 for Reels and Stories placements and 4:5 for Feed.

How do I install the creative skill?

Claude Code

Ships with the full plugin install.

Claude.ai & Desktop

Download adadvisor-creative.zip and upload via Settings, Capabilities, Skills.

Frequently asked questions

What is the 3-2-2 creative testing framework?

Charley Tichenor’s framework. 3 creatives × 2 primary texts × 2 headlines = 12 dynamic variants in one Meta ad set. Use Dynamic Creative to auto-optimize the combination. Best for validating which variation of a proven angle wins. For brand-new angles use 3-3-3 (Pilothouse) instead.

How often should I refresh Meta ad creative?

Spend-dependent.

100 to

200 a day, refresh every 2 to 3 weeks (1 to 2 new concepts).

1,000 to

10,000 a day, refresh every 7 to 10 days (4 to 6 new). $10,000+ a day, refresh weekly with 4 to 6 net-new concepts. Volume of new concepts matters more than total ad count.

What is hook rate and what counts as good?

Hook rate is 3-second views divided by impressions. The percentage of viewers who stopped scrolling long enough to count as having seen the ad. Healthy is 25% to 35% on Meta prospecting. Strong is 30% to 45%. Under 20% means the first 1 to 3 seconds need work.

Is 16:9 horizontal video still useful for Meta ads in 2026?

Generally no. Reels and Stories placements (where most attention is in 2026) require 9:16 vertical. Feed prefers 4:5 portrait. 16:9 only survives on Audience Network and gets letterboxed everywhere else, which suppresses delivery. The creative skill rejects 16:9 for Reels and Stories campaigns.

Can I use Dynamic Creative with a lead form?

No. Meta does not yet allow is_dynamic_creative: true ad sets to pair with lead_gen_form_id. The skill catches this and either turns off Dynamic Creative or routes lead-form creatives through standard single-variant copy.

Launch

Pairs with launch when creative is part of a new campaign.

Diagnose

Diagnose surfaces creative fatigue. This skill handles the refresh.

Targeting

Sarah Levinger’s “creative does the targeting” thesis lives at the intersection of these two.

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AdAdvisor Creative Skill: Test and Refresh Meta Ad Creative

When should I use the creative skill?

Which creative testing framework should I use?

How often should I refresh Meta ad creative?

How do I read Meta creative performance?

How does the AdAdvisor MCP creative workflow work?

Path A: reuse or find existing

Path B: upload new asset

What aspect ratio and video length should Meta creative use?

What anti-patterns does the creative skill prevent?

How do I install the creative skill?

Claude Code

Claude.ai & Desktop

Frequently asked questions

Launch

Diagnose

Targeting

​When should I use the creative skill?

​Which creative testing framework should I use?

​How often should I refresh Meta ad creative?

​How do I read Meta creative performance?

​How does the AdAdvisor MCP creative workflow work?

​Path A: reuse or find existing

​Path B: upload new asset

​What aspect ratio and video length should Meta creative use?

​What anti-patterns does the creative skill prevent?

​How do I install the creative skill?

Claude Code

Claude.ai & Desktop

​Frequently asked questions

​Related skills

Launch

Diagnose

Targeting

When should I use the creative skill?

Which creative testing framework should I use?

How often should I refresh Meta ad creative?

How do I read Meta creative performance?

How does the AdAdvisor MCP creative workflow work?

Path A: reuse or find existing

Path B: upload new asset

What aspect ratio and video length should Meta creative use?

What anti-patterns does the creative skill prevent?

How do I install the creative skill?

Frequently asked questions

Related skills