SELF-INITIATED RESEARCH · AFTER THE MOTION BOOTCAMP

What Dr. Squatch’s ads say, and who they leave out.

Research on Dr. Squatch’s ads across four markets, done on my own. Not a client project.

I DID

All of it, on my own.

THE LIMIT

Research and a concept, so no results to report.

ADS AUDITED

MARKETS

CUSTOMER MAPS

44 to 1

ADS FOR ONE GROUP VS ANOTHER

THE ONE LINE

44 ads talk to the skeptic. One talks to the 18 to 35 buyer who is into bro culture. And no ad talks to the people reviews say are buying the soap: women picking it for a husband, son or partner.

WHAT I SAW

SCALE WITHOUT RANGE

636 ads are running, and about three out of four of the 50 I audited are video. Nearly all of them lean on the same two angles: what is in the soap, and the deal.

THE IDENTITY BUYER, UNTAPPED

The 18 to 35 buyer who is into bro culture responds to belonging, pop culture and humor. One collab ad, Dragon Ball Z, speaks his language. That is the only one.

HOOK FORMULA FATIGUE

The ingredient comparison hook runs across dozens of ads. It lands hard at first, then gives less each time it repeats without a new angle.

WHAT I LOOKED AT

I ran a creative audit on 50 Dr. Squatch ads across four markets: the US, EU, Canada and Australia. I broke down the hook of their flagship ad, “This is what man soap smells like”, and mapped each ad to the customer it talks to, a persona map. That is 50 of the 636 ads running, so it is a starting view and not the whole library.

I audited 50 Dr. Squatch ads across four markets: the US, EU, Canada and Australia. I broke down the hook of their flagship ad, “This is what man soap smells like”, and mapped who each ad talks to.

DR. SQUATCH BRAND MARK · NOT MY WORK

HOW I DID IT

01 AD LIBRARY AUDIT

Pulled 50 recent active ads across the US, EU, Canada and Australia. Sorted each by format, creative type, copy angle and where the ad sends people. Found four hook types.

META AD LIBRARY · FORMAT MAPPING · MULTI MARKET

02 HOOK BREAKDOWN

Took the flagship ad, “This is what man soap smells like”, apart piece by piece: the identity reframe, the visuals, the social proof and the motion. Then wrote down what works and what is missing.

HOOK STRUCTURE · VISUAL LANGUAGE · SOCIAL PROOF

03 REVIEW MINING

Read Trustpilot, Walmart reviews and TikTok comments. Marked each by who is talking, the words they use, gifting, and complaints like how long the bar lasts, price and scent.

TRUSTPILOT · WALMART · TIKTOK COMMENTS

04 GAP ANALYSIS

Lined up how many ads each buyer gets against the buyers the reviews describe. That showed who is overserved, who is missing, and which existing ad could be changed to reach him.

PERSONA GAP MAP · AD ITERATION

WHAT I FOUND

The flagship ad works through an identity reframe, visual reinforcement, a run of social proof, and motion that keeps people watching. Across the audit, the coverage was uneven: the Ingredient Conscious Skeptic got 44 ads, while the Bro Culture Enthusiast, an 18 to 35 buyer, got one dedicated ad.

The flagship ad works through an identity reframe, visual reinforcement, a run of social proof, and motion that keeps people watching. Across the audit, the ads were uneven: the Ingredient Conscious Skeptic got 44 ads, while the Bro Culture Enthusiast, an 18 to 35 buyer, got one dedicated ad.

FIVE BUYERS, FROM THE 50 ADS

I built these from the ad copy, the formats, where each ad sends people, and the language in reviews, across four markets.

PRIMARY · 25 TO 40 · MEN

The Upgrade Guy

Still uses whatever was on sale at the drugstore. Not looking for natural products, but open to something better if it feels easy and masculine. Lines like “Lather like a King” speak to him.

PRIMARY · 28 TO 45 · MEN

The Ingredient Conscious Skeptic

Started reading labels after a partner, a podcast or wellness talk. The biggest group in the library. Ingredient comparisons and us versus them ads are built for him.

ALL AGES

The Deal Hunter

Price sensitive, or a new customer on the fence. Gets offer first banners, bundle pages and heavy urgency. Ads send him to the 9 bar packs and Squatch Stack bundles.

EUROPE

The European Discovery Buyer

Sees German language ads that lead with trust and credibility.

THE GAP · 18 TO 35 · MEN

The Bro Culture Enthusiast

Buys brands as a signal of who he is and shares funny ads with friends. Wants belonging, pop culture and humor. Has one ad made for him.

WHO GETS THE ADS

Ingredient Conscious Skeptic

44 of 50

Deal Hunter

34 of 50

Upgrade Guy

26 of 50

European Discovery Buyer

18 of 50

Bro Culture Enthusiast ★

1 of 50

OUT OF THE 50 ADS, HOW MANY SPEAK TO EACH BUYER. ONE AD CAN SPEAK TO MORE THAN ONE BUYER, SO THE BARS DO NOT ADD UP TO 50. COUNTS ARE APPROXIMATE.

WHAT THE HOOK IS MISSING

The flagship hook has the right structure. It is missing three things.

THE IDENTITY STAYS GENERIC

“Man soap” speaks to all men, so it speaks most strongly to no one group. It opens an identity gap and never fills it with a specific tribe.

NO SIGNAL OF BELONGING

The bro buyer does not only want to feel masculine. He wants to feel part of something. Tribe language and cultural references are missing.

THE CTA DEFAULTS TO FUNCTION

“Shop now” closes a sale, not a membership. For an identity buyer, an invitation like “Level up” finishes the story the hook started.

WHAT I’D CHANGE

For one ad, I wrote a plan with three shifts, to the hook, the middle and the call to action, turning it into a skit style ad. I kept it to one ad and three changes so that any lift can be traced back to a change.

For one ad, I wrote a plan with three shifts, to the hook, the middle and the call to action, turning it into a skit style ad.

THE CONCEPT

I also made an AI video concept: a sasquatch arm browses the soap display, hesitates, then decisively takes one bar, like a shopper choosing carefully.

THE BUYER NO AD TALKS TO

Reviews on Trustpilot and Walmart keep showing women buying for husbands, sons and partners, mostly for birthdays and holidays. Not one of the 50 ads is aimed at them. A gift track, with its own ads timed to those dates, would reach a buyer the brand already has and never speaks to.

THE IDEA

Build a steady run of ads for the 18 to 35 buyer, led by humor and by belonging, not by ingredients. Dr. Squatch already knows this buyer exists. The Dragon Ball Z and Batman collabs prove it. They are just one time drops. I would borrow that energy for the everyday line, with no licensed character needed. My guess to test: an ad led by belonging beats an ad led by ingredients with this buyer.

THE AD I WOULD CHANGE

One existing ad already has the right shape: a funny skit that shows the product. But it still sells ingredients (“Ditch that synthetic cleanser”). I would keep the skit and change what it says.
Start: from product education, to “Your body wash says more about you than you think.”
Middle: from an ingredient list, to friends vouching for it in their own words.
End: from “Shop now,” to “Join the 321K” or “Level up.”

THE ADS I MADE WITH AI

I made concept ads and product images for Dr. Squatch with AI tools. One is a short video where a sasquatch arm browses the soap display, hesitates, then takes one bar. Made with Higgsfield and Kive.ai. These are my own concepts. They are not Dr. Squatch ads and the brand did not ask for them.

AI IMAGE · DESIGNED BY ME FOR THIS PROJECT

AI VIDEO · DESIGNED BY ME FOR THIS PROJECT

WHAT I WOULD BUILD NEXT

01 A BRO CULTURE SERIES

An ongoing run of ads for the 18 to 35 buyer, led by humor, with calls to action in his own language and pop culture references, not ingredients.

02 HOOK TESTING

The ingredient hook runs across dozens of ads. Start testing identity, curiosity and social proof hooks against it, to find the next high volume angle before fatigue sets in.

03 COLLAB ENERGY WITHOUT THE LICENSE

Batman and Dragon Ball Z show Squatch can reach this buyer, but those are limited drops. Build something that carries the same energy every day with no licensed character.

04 A GIFT TRACK

Reviews show women buying for husbands, sons and partners, and no ad speaks to them. Ads timed to birthdays and holidays would open a second path.

THE OUTCOME

This was research and a concept on my own, so there are no results to report. It shows how I audit a brand’s creative, find who the ads leave out, and say what I’d change and how I’d test it.

This was research and a concept on my own, so there are no results to report. It shows how I read a brand’s ads, find who they leave out, and say what I’d change.

WHAT THIS RESEARCH SHOWS

Dr. Squatch has a high volume ad engine, with 636 ads running.
Most of what I audited speaks to the same two buyers: the skeptic and the deal hunter.
The bro culture buyer, the most shareable and identity driven, has one ad.
The flagship hook has the right structure and misses a specific tribe.
The gift buyer shows up in reviews and not in ads.
Identity first ads look like the next chapter, and the data points there.

GET IN TOUCH

studio.sharonepoole@gmail.com
linkedin.com/in/sharone-poole

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SHARONE POOLE