Developing UGC for fashion brands is a bit more complicated than the average consumer brand, but it’s not impossible. Read on to find out how.
This was originally published in the No Best Practices newsletter on 04.16.2023.
Updated 07.02.2024: Quick note–earlier this year I launched a DTC growth advice newsletter just for fashion brands. If you want even more advice like this post, click here to sign up for DTC (fashion) Decoded.
Ugly ads? For my fashion brand?
If you spend any time on DTC Twitter, you’ve probably heard that “ugly ads” or UGC-style ad creative is a must-have if you’re running Meta ads. But this tactic is under-utilized by fashion brands, and other brands with wide, shallow product catalogs.
How do I know this? I struggle mightily to find good competitive examples in this space when I do research for my own clients. Many brands recycle the lookbook shoots they do for wholesale accounts and run them as ads.
Why does it matter? Because “ads that don’t look like ads” crush traditional, polished campaign photography every time. I have seen low-fi ads transform fashion brands from “Facebook doesn’t work for us” to sales growth and profitable new customer acquisition.
These ads don’t even have to be ugly. They just can’t look like they’ve been shot by a professional photographer and ripped from the pages of Vogue. You’ll have to give up some aesthetic control, but you can still apply a brand framework to this type of ad.
Here is everything you need to know to try out this format in a way that your media buyer, CFO and creative director can get behind.
What Are “Ads That Don’t Look Like Ads”?
You can put Meta creative into two broad buckets: assets shot in a controlled environment with studio lighting, professional equipment and post-production, and assets shot in a more guerilla environment with a phone.
The binary is: could you repurpose this asset for a magazine ad? I’m focusing on assets that could not be used in a magazine, and feel native to Facebook and Instagram. I.e. they look like content a user shot and posted organically.
UGC for fashion brands (and every brand) comes in different “flavors”:
B-roll/iPhone Shots: photos and videos that are captured on an iPhone. Typically, a natural lighting source is used, even indoors. These can feature product on- or off-model.
True UGC: UGC stands for user generated content. True UGC is content that customers or fans shoot on their own, without guidance, free product or monetary compensation from the brand. The best UGC conveys authentic enthusiasm for the product that is hard to fake.
Commissioned UGC: this is content (usually video) that a brand commissions from a creator. A script or copy points are provided. This is essentially shooting a low-budget commercial, but it can still be effective, especially with sharp copywriting and creative direction. It can incorporate on-and off-model shots and testimonials (see below).
Testimonials: This is a narrative convention you can use with B-Roll, true UGC or commissioned UGC. It is essentially a positive review of the product that appears to come from a real buyer. They usually speak directly into the camera, but the voiceover can be cut with other footage.
Why Do These Formats Work So Well?
Borrow the phone of your most cheugy friend or relative who spends the most on fashion. Scroll through his or her Instagram feed, and compare it to your ad content. Do you blend in, or stand out? If you stand out, most users are going to mentally catalog your content as an ad and keep right on scrolling.
As platforms mature and users get accustomed to the format, advertising on the platform becomes less effective. “Ads that don’t look like ads” get around this because…they don’t look like ads.
The best low-fi content stands out as much as it blends in. But it stands out for the right reasons: it piques the viewer’s curiosity. This is why media buyers and UGC creators obsess about the “hook”.
But featuring best-selling products can be a “hook” too. Best sellers for fashion brands often have a coup de foudre effect. More people buy them because the color, print or proportion stands out visually.
Story time: I did a paid social creative workshop with the creative team of an advanced contemporary brand last year. I had them use Facebook/IG for a week and save images or videos of their favorite ads.
For the most part, they pulled really editorial ads–the kind that wouldn’t perform for most brands. And that is because these professional creatives had highly curated feeds. So editorial content is what they wanted and expected to see.
The most elevated account the average engaged US Meta user follows on Instagram is an LDS fashion blogger or a cottagecore tradwife.
You have to blend with their feed, not yours. And if you’re saying “that’s not my customer”, then Facebook probably isn’t a scaling platform for you.
Meeting Objections To UGC For Fashion Brands
In case you really want to try this, but someone else on your team does not…here are my responses to the most common objections.
It’s Ugly
It doesn’t have to be! You can produce it in house, with models, product and locations of your choice. Would you call the photography of Daniel Arnold, Bruce Davidson or Saul Leiter ugly?
It’s Not On Brand
Brand is more than visual identity. And a strong brand has guidelines for producing assets that are native to each platform (especially vertical video) in a consistent way.
Our Competitors Don’t Do It
When I hear this, the brand in question is generally punching above their weight regarding “the competition”. Louis Vuitton is not “the competition” for a $25M handbag line.
We Don’t Have The Resources
When I hear this, it’s typically because “the resources” are invested in a lookbook shoot that is only utilized in B2B marketing, or a “campaign shoot” that gets produced 4x/year to make the website look expensive. Take a moment to really consider the ROI of these activities.
We Sell Out Too Fast
If this is true for Meta ads, it would be true for any growth vehicle. This is an inventory planning problem, not a marketing problem. You do have to be mindful of the cost of content production relative to the total value of your inventory. But lo-fi creative can be very cheap to produce.
We Don’t Have “Features & Benefits”
Most fashion doesn’t solve a problem, it just looks nice. But you can get creative about the definition of a problem. Having nothing to wear is a problem. Packing for vacation is a problem. Finding clothes that fit is a problem.
7 Examples Of UGC For Fashion Brands To Get You Started
Capture iPhone Footage At Your Next Shoot
Examples: Cleobella, Jenni Kayne
This is the low hanging fruit of low-fi content. Send someone (ideally your media buyer or social media manager) to capture BTS content at your next eCom or campaign shoot. You’ll get optimal results if you focus on how the clothing moves and carve out some dedicated time for this during each look.
Plan A “Moving Still” Shoot
Examples: Vagabond Shoes
This is the ultimate low-fi, low budget concept. Grab a few team members who are sample size (or just gift ‘em product in their size) OR hire a model for a half day. Then shoot footage in your most stylized areas of the office, on the streets of your city, or inside a local coffee house.
Showcase A Best-Seller
Examples: Z Supply
If you have two ads where every detail is identical but the product, the ad featuring the better-selling product will win out every time. Think of creative ways to feature your best sellers that still feel organic and raw.
UGC Testimonials
Examples: Jenni Kayne
Self explanatory if you read the rest of the piece. Focus on best-selling styles, or styles with a lot of inventory. Try to get these from someone outside your organization to make them authentic.
Use The Founder
Examples: Jenni Kayne, Jennifer Fisher
Many fashion brands–especially those who have traction with wholesale accounts–have a founder who can sell. Shoot some iPhone footage of the founder walking through key products, and potentially trying them on. This is powerful when paired with account whitelisting for the founder.
Use Your Store
Examples: Jenni Kayne, Cleobella
If you have a cute store, show it off. This can help convey the vibe of the brand. Just be sure to include some try-on footage to feature products. Shoot it from the POV of a travel/lifestyle influencer visiting the neighborhood and checking you out.
Sell A Vibe
Examples: Aerosoles, Z Supply
This is it: your moment to sell a “lifestyle”. Just make it look like something from TikTok, not a billboard in Times Square. This is higher funnel messaging, so best to save this until you have traction with product-focused assets.