How to write Meta ad hooks that stop the scroll (20 examples)

A hook is the opening 8 to 12 words of your ad. It is the single highest-leverage line in the entire copy. If you optimise nothing else, optimise this. Below are 20 hook formulas that consistently produce above-average link CTRs, grouped by the psychological lever they pull on.

The specific-pain hook

• "My 3pm screen burn is gone and I have not changed anything except this."
• "Week three on whole30 and my skin was losing it. Until."
• "I used to wake up with back pain every single morning. Not anymore."
• "If you have ever worn the wrong bra size for 10 years, read this."

The specific-comparison hook

• "Like a $200 Japanese moisturiser, but €29."
• "I quit Glossier. This is what I replaced it with."
• "Same ingredients as the $90 serum. A third of the price."
• "Built by a former [big brand] chemist who got tired of the markup."

The curiosity-gap hook

• "There is a reason Scandinavian women have not been sold this until now."
• "The one ingredient nobody in the hair care aisle is using."
• "I am not supposed to say this, but here is the markup on [competitor]."
• "My dermatologist laughed when I asked about this. I now owe her an apology."

The social-proof hook

• "Twelve thousand repeat customers and a 4.9 average review. Here is why."
• "Sold out twice. We finally have it in stock again."
• "Forty-two five-star reviews in the last 30 days. Here is what they are saying."
• "The product my husband keeps stealing from my side of the cabinet."

The objection-first hook

• "If you think €29 is too much for a face serum, read the ingredient list first."
• "I know you have tried supplements and they did nothing. This one is different because—"
• "Smells like nothing on purpose. Here is why that matters."
• "It looks boring. It outsells every other product in our catalog three to one."

The rules for writing your own

1. Speak in the customer's voice, not your brand voice. "I" and "my" beat "you" and "our".
2. Be specific. "3pm screen burn" is a 10x better hook than "tired eyes".
3. Avoid adjectives. "Amazing" is weak. "Twelve thousand repeat customers" is strong.
4. Never start with your product name. Your customer does not know it yet.
5. Cut the first sentence. The hook is usually sentence two.

nordenagent generates 5 to 10 hook candidates per creative brief automatically, drawing on your brand voice and your real customer reviews. Worth trying if you have been staring at a blinking cursor for the last hour.