How to Write a Creative Brief for Video Ads (Free Template)

Here's something every creative team knows: the quality of an ad is mostly decided before production starts. A vague brief produces a generic ad, which then gets "fixed" through rounds of changes that never quite land. A sharp brief produces an ad that feels obvious in hindsight.

You don't need marketing training to write a good brief. You need to answer eight questions honestly. You know your product and your customers better than any agency ever will; the brief is how you hand that knowledge over.

The eight questions

1. What is it, in one sentence?

Not the slogan, the plain fact. "A silicone lid that fits any bowl and replaces plastic wrap."

2. Who buys it?

Describe one real person, not a demographic. "A busy parent who meal-preps on Sundays and feels guilty about plastic waste" gives a creative team something to work with. "Women 25 to 54" doesn't.

3. What problem does it solve, or what desire does it fulfil?

What's happening in their life right before they buy? What did they try first? What annoyed them about it?

4. Why yours?

What makes your product different from the alternatives they'd consider, including doing nothing? Be concrete: a material, a feature, a guarantee, a price.

5. What proof can we show?

Reviews, ratings, before-and-after photos, demos, certifications, press. Only include what's true and that you're comfortable having in an ad.

6. What's the offer?

A discount, a bundle, free shipping, a seasonal deadline, or simply "shop now". If there's a deadline, include the date.

7. What must be included, and what must be avoided?

Must-haves might be a logo, a specific color variant or a tagline. Things to avoid might include competitor names, certain claims, or a style you dislike.

8. What does success look like?

Launch awareness, first sales, lower cost per purchase, or fresh creative for a running campaign. The goal changes the kind of ad that makes sense.

Copy-paste template

Before and after

Weak brief: "Make a fun ad for our dog bed. Target dog owners. Show the quality."

Strong brief: "Orthopedic dog bed for senior dogs. Buyer: someone whose 10-year-old lab has started struggling to get up in the morning; they feel guilty and have tried cheap beds that flatten. Ours uses 4-inch memory foam that keeps its shape (we have a 7-day compression demo video). 4.8 stars from 600 reviews; the most common review mentions the dog sleeping through the night. Offer: free shipping. Avoid: anything sad or medical. Goal: first sales on Meta."

The second brief practically writes three angles by itself: the guilt of watching an old dog struggle, the "cheap beds flatten" comparison, and the "finally sleeping through the night" outcome. If you're wondering why angles matter so much, read the 3-angle testing method.

Common brief mistakes

• Describing everyone. An ad for everyone speaks to no one.
• Listing every feature. Pick the one that matters most to your buyer; the rest can live on the product page.
• Claims you can't prove. They'll be cut later anyway, or get the ad rejected.
• No examples. One link to an ad you like is worth a paragraph of adjectives.
• Changing the goal mid-way. Decide what the ad is for before production starts.

Let Sonny write the brief with you

If filling in a template isn't your thing, you don't have to. When you start a chat with Sonny, it reads your product page and asks these questions one at a time, in plain language and in your own language. It then shows you the brief as a summary card to confirm, and our team turns it into a creative plan with three angles for you to approve. See how it works.

Next, read about writing hooks that stop the scroll, or start with the complete guide to AI video ads.