Framework Teardown: Three Broken Ad Sets

Marketing Academy · Field Work●Paid Ads

MiniTeardown· 25 minutes

YETI Holdings

Objective: Given three synthetic YETI-style ad specimens, identify which framework step each one skips (PAS, AIDA, or the 4 Us) and rank the defects by severity.

You're a freelance copy reviewer YETI's agency hired for a one-day audit before a paid social push. Three ad sets are ready to launch and someone asked you to sign off first.

Read each specimen cold, run it against the framework it's supposed to follow, and flag every defect before it spends a single dollar.

Before you start

What you'll need

Free path (everything below is enough to finish)

Google Sheets

FreeLog each defect found, with severity, against the three specimens

Free, no account friction, and easy to sort by severity when you're ready to prioritize the rewrite

The process

Specimens to review

This is meant to follow PAS. Find every place it breaks the framework, and note anything that's fine as-is.

Sample output

GOOGLE SEARCH AD
Headline 1: Buy Tumblers Online
Headline 2: Free Shipping Available
Description: We sell insulated tumblers in many colors. Check out our website today.

Specimen: synthetic, realistic

This is meant to follow AIDA. Find every place it breaks the framework, and note anything that's fine as-is.

Sample output

META PRIMARY TEXT
Introducing the YETI Trailhead Chair. It has a durable frame and weather-resistant fabric. Buy now.

Specimen: synthetic, realistic

Run this headline through the 4 Us filter. Score it and list what's missing.

Sample output

DISPLAY AD HEADLINE
Great gear for your next adventure

Specimen: synthetic, realistic

Final deliverable

A defect log across all 3 specimens ranked by severity, with a full rewrite drafted for the single worst-offending ad.

See a reference example

Sample output

Warby Parker defect log (excerpt)

SPECIMEN: Search ad, frame try-on kit
Severity: critical — Headline names the product category ('Try Frames Free') not a problem; PAS Problem step is missing
Severity: moderate — Description is feature-focused ('5 frames, home try-on') with no stated benefit

REWRITE
Headline 1: Bad glasses selfies? Not anymore.
Headline 2: Try 5 frames at home, free, before you buy.
Description: Order your free home try-on kit. Ships in 2 days, return anytime.

Success criteria

You're done when you can:

Correctly identifies the missing PAS/AIDA stage in specimens 1 and 2
Correctly scores specimen 3 against all 4 Us and explains each miss
Does not flag any of the distractors as defects