“I did some digging.” Two ads that sell by showing they did their ‘homework’

Want to see some YouTube Shorts ads that are scaling right now, using VidTao ad intelligence tool?

You’re in luck…

Because today is 2 Shorts Tuesday. Why YouTube Shorts ads?

Because YouTube Shorts ad inventory is only going to keep growing: 

...And critically, most DTC & Direct Response advertisers are still under-leveraging YouTube Shorts as an ad placement.

(and the upside is huge)

So, what are some ways you can succeed with YouTube Shorts ads?

Let’s take a closer look at 2 YouTube Shorts ads doing well right now:

Ad 1: Hydroxyapatite toothpaste ad ($8M+ in ad spend)

Here’s the first ad that caught out attention this week:

This ad has two layers.

In the back, a guy films himself in the driver's seat with a red banner across the top: "I DID SOME DIGGING TO FIND THIS OUT... ".

In front, green-screened over the bottom of the frame, there's a second guy with long hair and a  hoodie who never says a single word. He nods, squints, raises an eyebrow, grins, as reactions to following whats being said in the video.

Partway through, the car guy cuts to a screenshot of search results about nano-hydroxyapatite, then to his own smile with a little inset of what his teeth looked like two weeks ago.

Core idea

Frame toothpaste as something Americans have been kept in the dark about. Other countries use hydroxyapatite, we use fluoride, and that's supposedly why we need veneers to get white teeth. Then the creator "discovers" the alternative, tries it, and shows you his teeth.

Why this ad works:

• "I did some digging" is one of the best openers in DR right now. It makes the creator your scout. He went and found something out so you don't have to, and you get the payoff in under a minute.
• There's an us-versus-them angle baked in. Japan and Canada get the good stuff, America gets fluoride. Nobody likes hearing they're getting the worse version of something, and it gives the viewer someone to be annoyed at. (The very first line actually says people "outside of America and Japan and Canada" have naturally white teeth, then says Japan and Canada are the ones doing it right. It contradicts itself in the first ten seconds, and I doubt one viewer in a hundred catches it.)
• "97% of tooth enamel" is the stat that does the heavy lifting. It's specific, it sounds like a textbook, and it makes the ingredient feel like the obvious choice. Of course you'd put the thing your teeth are made of back on your teeth.
• The search-result screenshot is the proof. He doesn't say "trust me," he says "look at this" and shows you a page with highlighted text and a university link at the bottom. To a scrolling viewer, that reads as research.
• "Artificial enamel" is a phrase people will remember. So is the picture of filling in "microscopic holes and cracks." You can almost see it happening.
• The silent guy in front is the clever part. He's not explaining anything. He's reacting the way the ad wants you to react, nodding at the right moments and smiling at the reveal. It's like a laugh track for credibility. He also makes it look like a reaction video someone stitched, so it feels less like an ad.
• The before/after is homemade. Same car, same phone, little inset photo. It looks like a guy showing off, which is more believable than a studio shot.
• "I'll tag this down below for you in this cart right here" is TikTok Shop language moved over to YouTube. It's casual, it points at a button, and it sounds like a recommendation.
•  "They might be running black market sales on this" is almost certainly "Black Friday sales" said fast. It's a nice bit of seasonal urgency for November, and he hedges it ("I'm not sure"), which weirdly makes it feel more honest. Worth double-checking how your captions render that line, though.

Inside Vidtao, you can check out more details on this ad and the advertiser, such as landing pages in use:

Creative beats to swipe:

1. Open with "I did some digging" and a banner that promises a reveal.
2. Set up a "they get it, we don't" comparison between countries, brands, or groups.
3. Drop one specific stat that makes your ingredient feel obvious.
4. Show a screenshot of the research instead of describing it.
5. Add a silent reactor in front who nods along. Let him do the "wow" so the speaker doesn't have to.
6. Show a homemade before/after with a short time frame.
7. Point at the cart and mention a sale you're "not sure" about.

Ad 2: BestMoney, "$78 a month for two cars" ad

An older guy with glasses, a gray beard, big headphones, and a podcast mic sits in a padded studio and opens with the number: "$78 a month for 2 cars," in huge yellow letters:

Then the screen switches to his phone. First a BestMoney "Multi Car Insurance Plan" page with 78/month full coverage split across two cars (35.30 + $42.70), then the quiz itself ("What's your car's make?") with a grid of car logos and his thumb tapping through.

It cuts back to him for the "we're done getting ripped off" close. Two disclaimers show up at the bottom: "The individual in this video is a paid actor and the content is not based on actual customers testimonials," and "Bestmoney.com does not feature all providers on the market."

Core idea

Lead with a price so low it sounds wrong, then prove it by screen-recording the actual quiz. Make getting a quote feel like a two-minute task that might save you a lot, and frame the alternative as being ripped off.

Why this ad works:

• The hook is just a number. "$78 a month for 2 cars" is weird enough to stop anyone who pays for car insurance, because most of them pay a lot more than that for one car. No question, no setup, just the price.
• "Make sure you watch carefully because I'm going to show you exactly how to do it" is a retention line. It tells you there's a payoff if you stick around, and it makes the next 30 seconds feel like a tutorial instead of a pitch.
• The screen recording is the proof. You see the quote page and the price breakdown per car, and then you see the quiz. Watching someone's thumb tap "Toyota" makes the whole thing feel real and easy.
• The per-car split ($35.30 + $42.70) is a nice touch. Exact cents make the price feel like a real quote and not a made-up number.
• "Quiz only took me 2 minutes" kills the main objection. Getting insurance quotes sounds like a chore, and he makes it sound like nothing.
• "The quiz is completely free" takes away the last bit of risk. There's nothing to lose by clicking.
• The close turns it into a shared grievance. "This year, we're done getting ripped off." "I'm sure many people watching this have been ripped off before and can relate." He's not selling insurance anymore, he's on your side against the insurance companies.
•  The casting fits the audience. An older, regular-looking guy with a podcast setup reads as a normal person sharing a tip, and he looks like the people who've been overpaying the longest.

Inside VidTao, you can see more of the high-spending ads by this advertiser, and now you can also see what hook type each ad has, check it out:

Creative beats to swipe:

1. Open on one shocking number in huge text, with nothing else.
2. Promise a walkthrough ("watch carefully, I'll show you exactly how").
3. Screen-record the actual quiz or checkout, thumb taps and all.
4. Name how long it takes and that it's free.
5. Close on a shared enemy and a "we're done with this" line.

What these two have in common

A toothpaste ad and an insurance ad shouldn't have much in common, but both of them win the same way. They show their work.

The toothpaste guy holds up a screenshot of research. The insurance guy holds up his phone with the quiz on it. Neither one asks you to just believe him, so the screen becomes the proof.

Both also give you someone to be mad at. For the toothpaste guy it's the American toothpaste industry and its fluoride. For BestMoney it's insurance companies that have been ripping you off. Both of them sit on your side of that fight.

And both look like regular content: a guy in a car, a guy with a podcast mic. Neither one looks like an ad until the cart or the quiz shows up.

The takeaway: if your offer has a proof moment (a search result, a quote, a checkout screen), film it. Viewers trust what they can watch someone do far more than what someone tells them. Just make sure what's on the screen holds up.

That's all for this week!

We hope this week’s selection of high-performing YouTube Shorts ads has sparked new ideas to test yourself!

Want more insights like these?

Stay tuned for next week’s VidTao 2 Shorts Tuesday…

…where we’ll continue breaking down winning YouTube Shorts Ads you can break down + model for your own creatives & campaigns.