Turn a product into scroll-stopping video hooks

A hook is the first 2–3 seconds, and it decides whether anyone sees the rest. TikTok: say the value in 3 s, finish the hook by 6 s (90% of ad recall happens in the first 6 s). Meta: a hook delivered through both picture and sound gives 1.5× the purchase intent. Billo's H1 2026 average Meta hook rate (3 s views ÷ impressions) was 25.44%: Health & Beauty 28.1%, Apparel 22.9%, Pets 21.3%.

But a hook only has to stop the right people. Barry Hott scaled ads with hook rates under 15%, and an ad with a 39.5% hook rate but 14.3% hold still burned money. Relevant beats loud. The hook must lead into the product.

1. Inputs (ask once)

• The product and the one thing it visibly does
• The buyer and their exact words about the problem (reviews, comments, Reddit). Copy phrases word for word.
• Where it runs (TikTok Shop, TikTok ad, Meta ad, organic) and what is provable

2. Write each hook as three layers

Layer	What	Example (knee sleeve)
Visual (0:00)	What is in frame on the first frame	A woman, 55, stops halfway up the stairs, hand on her knee
Spoken	One line, under 12 words	"If your knees crack on the stairs, watch this."
Text overlay	The same promise in ≤8 words, inside the safe zone	"Knees crack on stairs? 👇"

The three must agree. "Odd visual + caption + voiceover all saying the same thing" is how operators report 50%+ hook rates.

3. Pick hook types (vary the type, not the words)

Use at least 4 different types per batch. The full bank with 60+ lines is in references/hook-bank.md.

Type	Template	Best stage
Callout / yes-question	"If you're over 50 and your knees crack…" / "Does your foundation slide off by 2 pm?"	Problem-aware
Payoff first	Open on the result (clean oven, clear skin, organised drawer)	Any
Problem and fix in one shot	The phone case shatters… then the same case saves the phone	Any (top TikTok Shop)
Late discovery	"Been shopping here for 7 years and I'm JUST finding this???"	Unaware
Compliment → reveal	"You look happier." / "Thanks, I found…"	Unaware
Gratitude	"I'll never forget the girl who told me the secret to…"	Unaware
Confession	"I was a hater of this. I was wrong."	Product-aware
Negative / warning	"Stop buying cheap phone cases until you see this."	Solution-aware
Exposing / testing	"Seeing if this $19 pan is actually worth it"	Solution-aware
Hidden culprit	"This is the real reason your skin sags after 50"	Unaware
Price anchor	"The big brand is $599. This is $49." (substantiate)	Solution-aware
Newness / restock	"It's finally back."	Most-aware (top Motion hit rate)
Reply to a comment	Video reply to "does it actually work on thick hair?"	Product-aware
Satisfying intro	Lid snap, foil peel, pour — sound on	Any
Destroy / stress test	Drop it, burn it, freeze it in ice and smash it	Any
Absurd alternative	The product used for something absurd	Unaware
Skeptical voice	"There's no way this works."	Product-aware
Street question	"What are you getting her for Christmas?"	Gifting season

Motion's 2026 hit-rate order on Meta (578,750 creatives; includes Black Friday, so promo hooks are inflated): newness, sale announcement, price anchor, urgency, announcement, offer only, FOMO, new product, confession, exclusivity, curiosity.

4. Check every hook

• The product or the result is visible by second 2
• It leads into the product; no unrelated stunt
• Visual, spoken and text layers agree; text ≤8 words, inside the safe zone (out of the top 14%, bottom 35%, sides 6%)
• No claim you can't prove; no price unless it matches the live product page (TikTok Shop violations); no before/after that overstates results; no "Do you have [condition]?" on Meta (personal-attribute rule)
• Not a first-person result line for an AI person
• Different first frames across the batch (Meta groups ads with the same opening)

5. Make the hook clips (optional, costs credits)

For a hook that remakes an idea already viral for this kind of product (backyard-camera fail, torture test, gift reaction) as realistic phone footage, use varg-product-hook. Otherwise:

1. Quote first with estimate_cost and wait for a yes.
2. First frame: a still from the real product photo (nano_banana_2_1) or a frame of real footage.
3. Animate 3 s: kling_v4_flash for drafts, kling_v4 or seedance_2_5 for finals, the product photo as a reference on every clip. Keep the same character reference and scene baseline as the body, or the seam shows.
4. Voice the line (eleven_v4) or record it. Not for TikTok Shop presenters (AI voices banned there).
5. Join each hook to the body: ecommerce-video-edit §6 (scripts/hook-variants.sh), one MP4 per hook, named <product>_<angle>_h<NN>-<type>_v1.mp4.

6. When to make new hooks

• New hooks go on a winning body. A new concept comes first, hook swaps second: ten hook swaps of one video read as one ad to Meta.
• One winning body + 5 new openers: "one of those five will almost always outspend the others 30 to 1" (operator report).
• Cut the hook out of any reel that clears a 50% hook rate and keep it in a hook bank with its numbers.

Related

ecommerce-video-ads (the whole plan) · varg-product-hook (viral-style hook clip from product photos) · ad-creative-testing (how many, when to kill) · ecommerce-video-edit (join hooks to a body) · tiktok-shop-video