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Marketing Academy · Field Work●Copywriting
All projects·From: Ad Copy (Search, Social, Display)
MiniTeardown· 20 minutes

The Ad Copy Audit: Spot the Channel-Mindset Mismatch

Grab Holdings

Objective: Given 4 draft ad copy specimens across search, social, and display, identify which violate the lesson's channel-mindset rules, cite the specific rule broken, and recognize the one specimen that actually passes review.

You're a freelance PPC copywriter reviewing Grab's newly drafted ad set before it goes live across Google Search, an Instagram feed placement, and a partner display network.

Read each specimen, flag genuine defects versus plausible-but-fine copy, and cite which channel rule each defect breaks. Do not flag copy that is actually correct just because it looks unusual.

Before you start

What you'll need

Free path (everything below is enough to finish)

Google Docs
FreeRead each specimen and log defects with severity and rule reference

Free, no account friction, easy to comment inline next to each specimen

The process

Specimens to review

This search ad ran for two weeks at a 3.1% CTR, well under the 6.66% cross-industry average. Identify the defects.

Sample output
Search ad (Grab):
H1: "Grab: World's Best Ride App"
H2: "Download Now"
H3: "Grab Rides"
Description: "Experience the best ride-hailing service in Southeast Asia. Highly rated and trusted by millions."

Specimen: synthetic, realistic

This social ad ran at a 0.3% CTR, below the platform's 0.5%-1.6% range. Identify the defects.

Sample output
Instagram feed ad (GrabMart):
Body: "GrabMart offers same-day grocery delivery with a wide selection of fresh produce, household items, and personal care products at competitive prices."
CTA button: "Learn More"

Specimen: synthetic, realistic

This banner underperforms at a 0.03% CTR, below the 0.05%-0.1% global display average. Identify the defects.

Sample output
Display banner (300x250, Grab):
Headline: "Save Time and Money on Every Ride, Plus Earn Rewards"

Specimen: synthetic, realistic

This banner has decent production value but still underperforms. Identify the defect.

Sample output
Display banner (Grab, creative brief): Headline "Skip the Wait, Ride in Seconds!" paired with a visual of an empty street corner at dusk, no cars or people in frame.

Specimen: synthetic, realistic

Final deliverable

A defect log covering all 4 specimens: which are genuinely flawed, which rule each defect breaks, and which specimen actually passes review.

See a reference example
Sample output
Wise ad audit (excerpt)

Search H1: "Wise: The World's Best Money Transfer" -> CRITICAL, unproven superlative, replace with a query-mirroring headline like "Send Money Abroad, Real Exchange Rate"

Social body: "Wise offers international transfers with low fees and fast delivery." -> CRITICAL, leads with product category, rewrite to open with the outcome ("Stop losing money to bad exchange rates")

Display headline: "Fast, Cheap, and Simple International Transfers" -> CRITICAL, three benefits stacked, cut to one ("Cut your transfer fees")

Success criteria

You're done when you can:

  • Correctly flags all genuine defects across the 4 specimens with the right severity
  • Cites the specific rule each defect breaks, not just 'this feels off'
  • Does not flag the display tone-mismatch item for the wrong reason (verb choice is correct; tone is the issue)
  • Recognizes which parts of each specimen are actually fine rather than over-flagging