Show your product too early and it reads as an ad. Show it too late and half your audience already scrolled off before they saw what you're selling. There's a real sweet spot on when to introduce your product in a video ad….

Spoiler: you shouldn’t show your products immediately when the video starts.

Here’s why: The first 3 seconds decide whether anyone sticks around at all. If your logo or product shows up right away, people's brains file it as "ad" and move on before you've said a word.

Here’s a structure that has been working well for my clients: hook first (no product, just the problem or the outcome), let the viewer lean in for a few seconds, then bring the product in once they're already curious, usually somewhere in that 8-15 second window for a ~30 second ad. Wait much longer than that and people drop off before they ever learn what you're selling.

Try it: pull your last 3 winning ads and check the timestamp where the product first appears on screen. Then cut a variant that pushes that reveal 3-5 seconds later (or earlier, if it's currently buried past the 15-second mark) and compare hook rate and watch time against the original.

P.S. Where does your product usually show up in your ads right now? Hit reply, I'm curious if most people are revealing too early or too late.

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