---
title: Testing creative formats in buckets, then iterating inside the winner
slug: creative-format-bucket-testing
summary: Ryan Thorpe's TikTok creative process at Reflectly (2022) — produce batches per format ("day in the life", testimonial, lifestyle…), keep the format with the lowest cost per store visit, then A/B test one element at a time (creator, hook line, frames per second, CTA, not naming the product, accents), plus his celebrity-voice accident (40M views, then a cease-and-desist).
domain: mobile-apps
tags: [user-acquisition, ad-creative, creative-testing, tiktok-ads, hooks, ugc]
related: [tiktok-ads-for-apps-web-campaigns-2022, app-and-service-ad-formats, paid-social-creative-testing-framework, meta-iteration-vs-net-new-creative, organic-ugc-creative-strategy-layers, ad-creative-volume-and-hit-rate]
sources: [yt:RE2x5f4oUlM, yt:kXXFtl0ocU0]
updated: 2026-10-24
---

# Testing creative formats in buckets

## TL;DR
- **Step 1, buckets:** make a batch of videos per TikTok format (day in the life, testimonial, lifestyle…) and run them as separate creative tests.[^1]
- **Step 2, pick the format** with the lowest cost per result (store visit), then double down on it.[^2]
- **Step 3, iterate one element at a time:** different creators, the hook/first sentence, frames per second (3–4 cuts/s), CTA at the end, or **not naming the product**.[^2][^3]
- Leaving out the app's name can push viewers to comment "what app is this?". Engagement then lowers CPC and CPM.[^3]
- Small human differences matter: **British accents in US ads** beat American ones for Reflectly because they stood out. Then micro-target accents per country.[^4]
- Samet Durgun's 2025 version: once you have a creative, make versions by changing the hook and the script. Lead with the pain and emotion, not app features, for the first ~5 seconds.[^5]

## Details
**The celebrity-sound accident.** Reflectly used a trending TikTok sound that was a quote from YouTuber Emma Chamberlain on a "day in the life" video. Viewers recognised her voice in the first second, stayed, and clicked. Boosted on a micro-creator's account, it reached ~**40M views**, with downloads and revenue. Then her lawyer sent a cease-and-desist.[^6][^7]

**Turning it into a test.** They hired voice actors imitating celebrities who match the audience archetype (e.g. Ariana Grande for 18–25 women; also Morgan Freeman). Most tests made little difference, though he thinks off-season timing hurt them.[^8]

**Creative is targeting.** Host Jonathan Fishman cited a Facebook study ("The Big Catch") that recommends using creatives as the new targeting: a yoga-woman creative finds that audience.[^9]

## Disagreements / caveats
- **Legal risk:** using a real person's voice or likeness without permission can bring legal action. Thorpe's "not legal advice" aside isn't a licence. Voice imitation also raises right-of-publicity and FTC issues ([[ai-tools-for-app-ad-creatives]]).
- 2022 TikTok evidence. Post-Andromeda Meta penalises look-alike iterations as one "entity" ([[meta-creative-similarity-entity-ids]]), so balance iterations with net-new formats.
- Single-element iteration fits [[organic-ugc-creative-strategy-layers]] (layer 2, "iterate one variable").

## See also
- [[app-and-service-ad-formats]] — format ideas to fill the buckets
- [[meta-iteration-vs-net-new-creative]]
- [[people/ryan-thorpe]]

[^1]: yt:RE2x5f4oUlM @ 15:43 — Ryan Thorpe
[^2]: yt:RE2x5f4oUlM @ 16:29 — Ryan Thorpe
[^3]: yt:RE2x5f4oUlM @ 17:17 — Ryan Thorpe
[^4]: yt:RE2x5f4oUlM @ 18:06 — Ryan Thorpe
[^5]: yt:kXXFtl0ocU0 @ 24:58 — Samet Durgun
[^6]: yt:RE2x5f4oUlM @ 20:29 — Ryan Thorpe
[^7]: yt:RE2x5f4oUlM @ 22:06 — Ryan Thorpe
[^8]: yt:RE2x5f4oUlM @ 24:46 — Ryan Thorpe
[^9]: yt:RE2x5f4oUlM @ 13:59 — Jonathan Fishman