5 Creative Gaps Performance Marketers Are Sleeping On

The Law of Large Numbers is a statistical phenomenon at the heart of performance marketing. It states, in simple terms: the more times something happens, the closer the average gets to the true outcome. Just as a single roll of the dice is random, so is a single ad click. But after 10,000 rolls/clicks the true underlying pattern emerges.

Here’s what’s inside:

• What 1,000s of ads reveal about gaps in creative strategy
• How to identify and fill those gaps in your own ad mix
• Lessons from a cutout animation-style CTV ad that’s crushing

The 5 Biggest Gaps in Creative Strategy (and How to Fill Them)

If you’ve been following Funnel Vision, you know we’ve been nerding out over creative diversity.

Why? Because diversifying creative is one of the most impactful performance levers marketers have in 2025.

Over the past few months, we’ve scrutinized thousands of ads across dozens of brands, individually tagging and categorizing each and every piece of creative in the mix.

A recent analysis of 1,955 ads across 26 brands reveals some telling patterns, and untapped performance opportunities hiding in plain sight.

The Big Picture

This Creative Map shows all 1,955 ads we analyzed, categorized by theme (what the ad says) and formats (how it says it).

Many brands are stuck relying on safe (but boring) creative themes and formats while leaving performance-driving opportunities untouched.

Here are the five biggest gaps we uncovered, and how you can close them.

1. Overreliance on Product-Centric Static Ads

Product-centric static image ads accounted for the largest cluster, accounting for nearly 20% of the entire mix.

These ads are easy to make and get the job done. But too many in the mix is the creative equivalent of eating plain toast every day. Plain. Boring. Forgettable. They rarely differentiate your brand or generate breakthrough results.

How to fill the gap: Rebalance your portfolio by layering in formats that contextualize your product: UGC, lifestyle creative, or testimonials. These expand your story beyond “here’s the product” and unlock new messaging angles to explore.

2. Neglect of Brand Story & Mission

Across nearly 2,000 ads, only a handful communicated brand purpose, mission, or values.

Today’s audiences don’t just buy products, they buy brands. Omitting your story or mission leaves you vulnerable to commoditization.

How to fill the gap: As the name implies, this is a long-term equity-building play. Returns on concepts that sit so high on the funnel aren’t always immediate, and because of that they can be hard to justify.

But when done right, campaigns that focus on the “why” behind the brand/product/service can pay off via greater long-term awareness, affinity, trust, and loyalty among consumers.

3. Underuse of Humor & Trends

Humor, entertainment, and trend-based themes are underexplored.

These concepts dominate social advertising because they feel native. By avoiding them, brands risk missing out on engagement and cultural relevance that can fuel performance.

How to fill the gap: To be fair, these concepts are some of the hardest to get right. Humor can fall flat, and jumping on a trend can backfire.

So start small.

Remix trending memes. Put your own spin on popular social tropes and formats. Work with creators to inject personality and humor into your ad creative. Test new concepts in small geos to gauge how it will land before scaling.

Ultimately, you need to balance the risk of a bold concept missing the mark with the cost of never trying.

4. Narrow Use of UGC Video

While user generated content (UGC) is widely represented, it’s concentrated on testimonials and explainers.

These themes are highly effective, but they barely scratch the surface of what creators/talent can deliver. Plus, elevated UGC (mid-tier productions that combine the authenticity of UGC with the polish of high-production) is underdeveloped by contrast.

How to fill the gap: Push UGC further. Use creators for aspirational lifestyle, humorous, or even brand story content alongside testimonials and explainers. Their authenticity can unlock new angles that other assets can’t.

5. Brands Are Sleeping on Carousels

This one surprised us: Carousels are almost absent across the dataset.

Where’s the love for carousels?? Sure, they’re not the flashiest format. But what they lack in style they make up in pure work-horse reliability.

Plus, they’re one of the easiest formats to produce; especially if you already have a deep bank of assets to pull from.

How to fill the gap: Don’t sleep on the “boring” formats. Carousels offer more creative space to show off multiple products, showcase more features, tell your story, and explain processes.

Pull together a few statics or grab & tweak a couple frames from a video ad and run it as a carousel. It’s a low-lift way to diversify your ad mix. And the results may surprise you.

Creative Diversity Isn’t a Nice-To-Have

It’s a critical performance driver.

Brands can no longer rely on one hero ad to carry the weight. True performance comes from diversifying creative across themes, formats, and messaging. This is how you find new ways to reach your audience and unlock new insights to optimize.

The real risk in creative strategy isn’t testing bold, diverse formats and missing the mark. The real risk is never testing at all. Snoozing on creative diversity means bleeding relevance, engagement, and performance to competitors who’ll outpace you with fresher creative.

In 2025, playing it safe is the most dangerous play of all.

How to Find Your Creative Gaps

Curious what gaps are hiding in your own creative portfolio? Request your very own custom Creative Map to benchmark your brand against the field 👇

Request your Creative Map

Ad of the Week ✨

This week’s slot goes to a CTV spot for FinTech brand, Earnest. By leaning into humor and pairing a playful VO with imaginative cutout-style animation, it transforms a traditionally dry topic (student loan refinancing) into something fresh, funny, and relatable.

▶ Watch the ad

• Brand: Earnest
• Platform: CTV
• Length: 30 seconds (with shorter cutdowns)

Why It Works 🧠

Using humorous analogies (ramen stacked to the moon, unicorn pool floats, a Parisian wine-and-cheese moment) grounds the benefits, thousands in savings, in tangible (albeit tongue-in-cheek) examples rather than abstract numbers.

The cutout animation style blends realistic, human-like characters with surreal fantasy worlds, bringing the VO’s analogies to life without feeling too cartoonish. It leans into absurdity, but still presents the product as something made for real people.

The 30-second spot is tightly paced, with fast transitions, expressive character reactions, and playful use of music and SFX. Fun and flippant “disclaimers” add a delightful extra kick of attention-holding humor.

Thanks for reading!

That’s all for this week. Seeya next time 🫶