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Ad Performance4 min readDecember 1, 2025

WHY "UGLY" ADS OUTPERFORM YOUR STUDIO SHOOTS

Polished ads look like interruptions. Raw videos look like entertainment.

There is a strange phenomenon in 2025 marketing: The more money you spend on production, the worse your ads perform.

Why? Because of "Banner Blindness."

Our brains have evolved to ignore anything that looks like a commercial. Perfect lighting? Scroll. Professional actor? Scroll. scripted dialogue? Scroll.

The "Native" Advantage

TikTok and Instagram Reels are platforms for raw, handheld, messy content. When you put a cinema-quality ad there, it feels like a foreign object. It feels like an interruption.

But a shaky video of a guy asking a girl on the street a question? That looks like the content I came to watch. It blends in.

We call this "Native Camouflage."

  • Lower Production Value = Higher Trust.
  • Higher Trust = Higher Watch Time.
  • Higher Watch Time = Lower CPM.

Your "ugly" ad isn't just cheaper to make. It is actually cheaper to run.

The Lisn Editorial

Marketing Strategy Team

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WHY "UGLY" ADS OUTPERFORM YOUR STUDIO SHOOTS | LISN Agency Blog