The shorter their attention span, the longer your ad should be.

Simon says: Brainrot & Delusion

2026 is all about overcoming brainrot and creative fatigue in our lives. We can't be defeated by sameness and boredom.

Today I wanna share two Meta ad formats that fight back: a short story, and a gross comedy sketch. Both are printing money right now because they go against AI slop and brainrot.

I'll start with a confession:

This was me a few months ago, and still is. I have to make a daily effort to focus on the things I actually care about, because the whole world right now is designed for you to lose attention and interest in everything, INCLUDING the things that matter most to you.

That's not just me, that's your customer. The boredom threshold has collapsed for everyone, for everything, not just ads. Things that used to hold us for an hour burn out in minutes, and we're all scrolling (believe it or not) for something that makes us feel present again.

Advertising happens inside that exact same fried brain. So every year it gets harder to make someone actually want to SEE and consume your ads.

Let’s get into the first ad:

Nothing about it says “ad.” → No product, no logo, no headline. A biker sitting at a grave, a photo that makes you need the story (and it better be a good one with that random pic).

And yes, this one doesn't disappoint: the caption is a story. Not "storytelling-inspired copy," not even a "short story"; it's a pretty damn long story (I took the time to actually do the word count in a G.Doc, it's 6k words), written like something between a viral Reddit confession and a short film (or like a freakin testament lol): a widower, a stranger on a Harley who keeps visiting his wife's grave, a secret she took with her.

You tap "see more" and you read the whole thing. —> link to this after this super long image lol (I want you to get a picture of the extension actually).

Actually here’s the link to it if u feel like I’m gatekeeping something from you, suit yourself and enjoy the read.

And at the very bottom, after the story ends: six postscripts. PS, PPS, all the way to PPPPPPS. That's where the ad itself is hidden → the offer, the discount, the guarantee, the link to the product page.

Two things I already know, and I'm sure you too by now:

One: your customer's brain is trained to detect ads. You're conditioned to expect them, and sometimes, when you're already TOO convinced to buy, when you're really too aware of a need, a straight BOF static ad, with a big offer and a 60% discount text, really works. BUT if there's no urgency, then you gotta change plans.

Two: Meta is rewarding text-heavy creatives right now. This is NOT exactly text-heavy, because the actual copy is on the description. But it does tell a full story, that is trying to get into the brains of people who are into literacy, who wanna get lost in good stories, people who probably are seeking to get out of the brainrot loop.

But here's the part people get wrong: "nobody reads anymore" is just not true. I'd say there are two types of people that actually read 6k-word stories:

Both will finish a story that deserves being read.

The second format is a comedy sketch a wellness brand is running: a "doctor" and a patient, played completely straight.

Actual ad here: https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/?id=1722152848694387 

The "doctor" (I talked about this whole in-quotes phenomenon in a past edition, here) goes symptom by symptom first, gross ones, genuinely disgusting, the kind nobody says out loud. And the kind every woman watching secretly has. That's the setup: for the first stretch of the video, this isn't about any product. It's about you.

Then the diagnosis lands, fast, and this is the smart part. It's not hard-medical. Nobody names a disease. It's the diagnosis the whole internet already gave itself this year: cortisol.

The ad doesn't have to convince you of anything, because you walked in pre-diagnosed.

Then the doctor says: "you're the eleventh woman who's walked in here today with this." Same mechanic we talked about last edition → you're not alone, everyone's going through the same thing, come closer.

And the prescription? Not the gym. Not eating less. Every vitamin and supplement she needs, in one product.

It's built like a sketch, so it competes with sketch comedy in the feed, not with other supplement ads. And it wins, because the bar in supplement ads is on the floor and the bar in comedy is not.

Your ad's real competition is not (just) other ads. It's everything else in the feed (and outside of it too, like the newsletters and Substack posts your customer's reading):

The formats printing right now are the ones that accept that and compete on those terms.

So the brief changes. Instead of "make an ad about the product," it's: what would this audience watch or read anyway, and can our product live inside it, honestly, all the way to a CTA?

And on that CTA: send it straight to the product page. Meta rewards it right now, and so does the user, even when the ad isn't BOF. You just got someone to read 6,000 words or sit through a full sketch; don't add another step between them and the product. Ad → PDP, done.

That's it for this one.

Reply and tell me the last ad that made you forget you were looking at an ad. I read everything, and the best answers become future editions.

Talk soon, Simon

Stop guessing what works on Meta. We already know. Book a call with me and my team!