30 Ad Hooks That Stop the Scroll, Adapted for Ghana

On Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, people decide in a second or two whether to keep watching. The opening of your advert, the hook, does most of the work. A great product with a weak hook gets scrolled past.

Here are 30 hook formulas that work, with examples for Ghanaian businesses. Use them as starting points, not scripts to copy.

Problem hooks

• "Still [annoying problem]?" "Still buying bags that peel after one month?"
• "Stop [common mistake]." "Stop boosting your posts. Here's why."
• "The reason your [thing] keeps [failing]." "The reason your braids keep loosening in a week."
• "If you [situation], watch this." "If your generator bill is more than your rent, watch this."
• "[Number] signs your [thing] is fake." "3 signs your iPhone charger is fake."

Curiosity hooks

• "Nobody tells you this about [topic]." "Nobody tells you this about buying land in Kasoa."
• "I didn't believe it until…" "I didn't believe it until I tried it for a week."
• "Here's what GH₵ [amount] gets you." "Here's what GH₵ 500 gets you at our shop."
• "Watch what happens when…" "Watch what happens when we pour water on this bag."
• "The [product] everyone in [place] is asking about." "The sandals everyone in Osu is asking about."

Result hooks

• "How [customer] [result] in [time]." "How Ama cleared her dark spots in 6 weeks."
• "From [before] to [after]." "From notebook orders to a shop that runs itself."
• "[Result] without [pain]." "Glowing skin without bleaching."
• "This is what [number] [units] looks like." "This is what 300 orders a week looks like."

Social proof hooks

• "[Number] people bought this last month." Use real numbers only.
• "Our customers keep sending us this." Then show real messages.
• "Why [type of person] keep coming back." "Why nurses keep coming back for these shoes."
• "Rated [score] by [number] customers." Real ratings only.

Direct hooks

• "[Product], [price], delivered today." "Leather tote, GH₵ 380, delivered in Accra today."
• "Pay when it arrives." Simple and powerful for first-time buyers.
• "For [specific person] only." "For women who hate ironing."
• "Last [number] in stock." Only when it's true.

Comparison hooks

• "GH₵ 150 vs GH₵ 400 [product]: what's the difference?"
• "Market [product] vs ours."
• "What you think you're buying vs what you get."

Story hooks

• "I started this business because…" A founder's honest reason.
• "A customer called us crying…" Only real stories, told with permission.
• "We almost shut down last year." Honest vulnerability builds trust.

Visual hooks

• Start mid-action: pouring, cutting, unboxing, transforming.
• Start with the result: the finished look, the full order, the happy customer, then show how.

Rules for using hooks

• Be honest. Never promise what the product doesn't deliver. Fake urgency and fake numbers destroy trust.
• Match the hook to the advert. A hook that baits and switches gets clicks but no sales, and Meta learns from that.
• Show it, don't just say it. Put the hook on screen as text and in the first visual.
• Test several. The same advert with three different hooks can perform completely differently.

How to test hooks

Make one strong advert, then create three to five versions with different openings. Run them in the same campaign and compare hook rate (how many people watch past three seconds), click-through rate and cost per result. Keep the winners and use what you learn in your next adverts. See how to test ad creatives.

With AI production, making many hook versions is quick and cheap. See how to write video ad scripts with AI.

If you'd like us to write, produce and test hooks for your brand, see our AI video ads and creatives service.