Video and UGC
Hook Examples: 50 Opening Lines for Video Ads
The first seconds decide whether someone keeps watching or scrolls on. 50 hook examples for video ads in five types, ready to adapt for your own product.
Written by Genly's AI team, reviewed by Marlon Bonink
· 6 min read
The first seconds of your video decide whether someone keeps watching or scrolls on. You can have the best product and the best story, but if the opening does not grab people, nobody sees it. That opening is called the hook. Below are 50 hook examples in five types, ready to adapt for your own product or service.
Short answer: A hook is the opening line or opening shot of your video, designed to stop the scroll. Five types work again and again: a familiar problem, a result, curiosity, proof and calling out your audience directly. Test three to five hooks per video with the rest of the video unchanged, and within a week you will see which one works.
What is a hook?
A hook is everything that happens in the first one to three seconds: the first line, the on-screen text and the first shot. On Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, viewers decide in that window whether your video is worth watching. The rest of your video only matters once the hook works.
A good hook is short, concrete and about the viewer, not about you. "Welcome to our company" is not a hook. "Your boiler is making a ticking sound? Watch this" is.
50 hook examples in 5 types
Replace the italic examples with your own product, place or number.
1. A familiar problem
| Hook | Fits |
|---|---|
| "Twenty minutes every morning figuring out what to wear?" | Clothing, online store |
| "Your plants keep dying, no matter how often you water them?" | Online store, garden center |
| "Another quote you never hear back about?" | Service provider |
| "Your back hurts after a day at your laptop." | Furniture, physio |
| "You have an online store, but nobody buys." | Marketing, software |
| "Your energy bill shocks you every month." | Solar, insulation |
| "Your kids will not eat their vegetables." | Food, recipes |
| "Your ads cost money but bring in nothing." | Marketing |
| "Does your gutter overflow every time it rains?" | Home services, roofing |
| "Too tired to cook after work?" | Meal kits, restaurants |
2. A result
| Hook | Fits |
|---|---|
| "How this bakery went from 3 to 40 orders a week." | Service provider, marketing |
| "Calmer skin in 30 days, without a complicated routine." | Skincare |
| "Three weeks ago this garden was mud." | Landscaping |
| "My energy bill is now half of last year's." | Solar, insulation |
| "From a packed closet to everything on one shelf." | Storage, decor |
| "This is your bathroom after one day." | Remodeling |
| "I read more in one month than in all of last year." | Books, apps |
| "Here is what $10 a day in ads brought in." | Marketing |
| "This is how we now sleep eight hours a night." | Beds, sleep products |
| "From first session to first 5K in six weeks." | Fitness, coaching |
3. Curiosity
| Hook | Fits |
|---|---|
| "Nobody tells you this about heat pumps." | Home energy |
| "The mistake 9 out of 10 stores make on their product page." | Marketing, software |
| "I wish I had known this before selling my house." | Real estate |
| "Why chefs never fry with extra virgin olive oil." | Food, kitchenware |
| "I wore only this for three months." | Clothing |
| "What happens if you never service your boiler." | Home services |
| "The cheapest thing in my kitchen is also the most used." | Kitchenware |
| "Watch what happens when I drop this in water." | Product demo |
| "The difference between a $25 and a $60 haircut." | Salon |
| "There is a reason behind the color of this bottle." | Skincare, drinks |
4. Proof
| Hook | Fits |
|---|---|
| "1,200 reviews, 4.8 stars on average. Here is why." | Online store |
| "The best-rated salon in town for 12 years." | Local service |
| "This backpack sold out three times in one week." | Online store |
| "We installed 900 heat pumps. These are the questions everyone asks." | Home energy |
| "Our clients come back four times a year on average." | Salon, restaurant |
| "Tested by 50 runners, one shoe was left standing." | Sports |
| "Why 140 business owners joined this program." | Coach |
| "This is our best-selling scent of the year." | Beauty |
| "I have used this for two years, and here is my honest take." | Real customer or owner |
| "Famous at the farmers market, now online too." | Local product |
5. Calling out your audience
| Hook | Fits |
|---|---|
| "Just started freelancing? Watch this." | Accountant, software |
| "For everyone living in a house built before 1990." | Home energy |
| "Dog owners, this will change your walks." | Pet products |
| "For online stores with fewer than 100 orders a month." | Marketing |
| "Live in Austin and looking for a barber?" | Local service |
| "Parents of kids under six: listen up." | Kids products |
| "Do you stare at a screen all day?" | Glasses, furniture |
| "Run a restaurant with empty Tuesdays?" | Restaurant marketing |
| "For everyone who hates working out." | Fitness, coaching |
| "Getting married in 2027? You need to know this now." | Wedding services |
Note: call out a situation, not personal attributes such as health or finances. "Are you in debt?" will get rejected by Meta.
The first 3 seconds: visual and text
A hook is more than a line. Three elements together work best:
| Element | What to do |
|---|---|
| Visual | Start mid-action: the product in use, the problem on screen, a face saying something |
| On-screen text | The hook as large text at the top, because many people watch without sound |
| Audio | The first words right away, no intro or logo first |
Testing hooks
You only know which hook works by testing. The simplest approach: make three to five versions of the same video, each with a different hook and otherwise identical. Run them side by side in one ad set for a week and compare watch time and cost per click or purchase.
By hand that is a lot of work. Genly's copywriter writes four openings for every script, and you turn them into videos with an AI presenter right away, see our AI UGC page. For the full workflow, read how to make AI video ads.
Frequently asked questions
How long is a hook?
One to three seconds, usually one line of five to twelve words. Shorter is better, as long as it stays concrete.
Does the same hook work on TikTok and Meta?
Often, but the tone differs. On TikTok a raw, personal opening tends to work better; on Facebook it can be more direct and informative. Test on both.
Can AI write hooks?
Yes, and it saves a lot of time. Give the AI your product, your customer and a sample of your tone, and ask for ten variations. Pick three and test them. Read more in how to make ads with AI.
Editor
Co-founder of Genly
This article was written by Genly's AI team and reviewed by Marlon before it went live. How we work with AI: AI transparency.
