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Video ad script: the template I use, and how to test it
A video ad script fits on one page in two columns, picture and sound. The template, the length rule, and why you read it out loud before filming anything.
Published on · Joh · 5 min read
A video ad script is the written plan of the video: what you see and what you hear, second by second. For a short Facebook or Instagram ad, it fits on one page. It is what stops you discovering in the edit that the shot proving everything is missing.
The two-column template
| Picture | Sound |
|---|---|
| What you see on screen: the shot, the framing, the text displayed | What you hear: voice, dialogue, sound, music |
Each line is a shot. Number them, note the target length beside each. The left column forces you to think in pictures: if a sentence has nothing to show opposite it, it often serves no purpose.
The four blocks
- The hook, 1 to 3 seconds. The line and image that stop the scroll. Six hook mechanics, with examples.
- The problem or the wish, a few seconds. What the customer lives through, in their words.
- The proof. A job, a before and after, a customer, a real number. It is the part scripts most often forget, and the one that makes the difference on a big purchase.
- The call to action. One thing to do: request a quote, book a visit, call.
The full structure, block by block.
The length rule
Spoken aloud, people say roughly two to three words per second. A 30-second script therefore holds around 75 words of voice, not 200. It is the most ignored rule: people write too much, then speed up on set, and the video ends up breathless.
The test is simple: read the script out loud, stopwatch in hand, at a conversational pace. Whatever runs over, cut it on paper, not in the edit.
Write for sound off
A large share of videos are watched without sound. On-screen text must therefore carry the message alone. In the picture column, I write the text that will be displayed, word for word, alongside the voice. If the video makes sense muted, it will make sense with sound too.
Several hooks, one body
The most profitable approach isn't writing three different scripts, but one video body and several hooks. You film or generate the opening variants, keep the rest identical, and let the campaigns tell you which one stops the most people. That is how I prepare my clients' videos.
Filmed or AI, same script
The script doesn't change whether the video is filmed at your place or generated with AI. What changes is the picture column: for filming, it is the shot list; for AI, it becomes the description of each scene to generate. AI video or real filming, how to choose.
Further reading: What a video ad on Meta costs and Ad fatigue.
Want a script for your next ad? . We start from what your customers ask you most often.