The Hook
I do have a soft spot for quotes as hooks. Which shouldn’t be a surprise considering I run a case study business. And this is a good’un!
“Slack canvases are the ultimate time-saver” is just bang on for a quote headline. It names the product, it names the feature, and it names a huge benefit. They struck gold with this quote.
I’ve been a Slack user (often reluctantly) since the early days. Back when it was the supposed ‘email killer’. So it takes a lot for me to feel any enthusiasm about the product. If anything, it’s more of a distraction than email ever was, and most Slack workspaces are in shambles.
BUT this hook legitimately made me raise an eyebrow. I’ve not used canvases, but this made me want to know more.
The Angle
Once you’ve hooked a reader, you need to follow it up with an angle that pulls them along for the ride.
When you’ve created a curiosity gap as good as “Slack canvases are the ultimate time-saver”, you need to then answer the big question on the readers mind. Which, for me at least, is “what the fuck is a canvas”?
But I don’t get an answer.
“Instant info is the best info” just raises more questions. From the name, I assumed a canvas would be some sort of interactive document. But it’s about getting information instantly?
Then it just retreads the hooks ground with “Wolf & Badger uses canvases to get time back and focus on their customers.”
If you’re going to dangle a feature in front of the reader, at least tell them what it is!
The Ask
I’m officially confused. Do canvases automate tasks and organise projects??
WHAT THE FUCK IS A CANVAS?
This ad is infuriating. It’s like a friend telling you they’ve got some gossip, then talking about the weather instead. I don’t give a shit about the weather, Sheila, just tell me the gossip!!!
Then the button is “Sign Up”. Why would I sign up when you haven’t even explained what the new (presumably?) feature does?
The Landing
And predictably the ‘Sign Up’ button just takes me to a generic landing page. A landing page that doesn’t mention canvases a single time.
Who is this ad for? Someone who knows Slack, knows what a canvas is, but just needed a bit of social proof to be convinced? That’s not a real person.
Surely the whole point of this ad should have been “Hey, check out this feature you didn’t know about. It works like this and people love it”
Instead, it gives up after the hook.
The Verdict
Great hook let down by everything else. Aida set them up for a slam dunk and they spaffed it into the rafters.