Querétaro, Mexico · remote
Víctor Omar Castañeda Vargas
I script and edit UGC video ads for e-commerce brands: the hook, the offer on screen, and the variations to test them.
Video ad editor in Querétaro, Mexico, working remote. From 2022 to 2026 I scripted and edited UGC ads for a DTC supplement brand's Meta sales campaigns; the brand's team ran the media buying. Lately I've been cutting spec ads in English for US e-commerce brands; a few are below.
Spec ads for US brands
Samples cut from each brand's own public ads, to show how I'd approach the first seconds. Not commissioned by the brands.
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Friday Pickleball · product first
“You don't need to spend $200 to get a great paddle.”
- Why this opening
- AI builds the sunset court, carbon fiber and the four foams around their real Aura paddle. The type matches their wordmark and the colors come from the paddle's Helios edge. This version opens on the paddle instead of the ball.
- Nano Banana 2
- Kling 4.0
- ElevenLabs music
- Motion graphics in code (Remotion)
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Tuft & Paw · promise first
“No tracking. No dust. No kidding.”
- Why this opening
- Their founder's ad didn't show or name the litter until 34 seconds in. Their own tagline goes on screen from the first frame, so the promise lands before he starts talking.
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Everyday Dose · testimonial first
“I've been drinking it for almost two years. I can honestly say I'm gonna choose this before I choose any drive-thru coffee.”
- Why this opening
- Their creator's strongest line was deep in the ad. Moved to the first seconds, it gives a reason to believe before the recipe starts; everything after it is untouched.
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Good Girl Snacks · product first
“Crunchyyy!!!”
- Why this opening
- Every word on screen is printed on their jar or their nutrition panel. AI builds the snap, the brine, the dill and the turmeric; the jar is their real photo. The cards copy the blue and yellow of their label. This version opens on the jar instead of the snap.
- Nano Banana 2
- Kling 4.0
- ElevenLabs music
- Motion graphics in code (Remotion)
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CRBN Pickleball · their pro first
“So if you're a seasoned pro like me who geeks out on their equipment, or just a weekend player chasing fun,”
- Why this opening
- Their ad opened on a small wide shot with a specs headline. In pickleball brands' most-viewed TikTok ads with voice, 12 of 14 open on a face talking to camera, so this one starts with Scott's own line.
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Kōv Essentials · claim first
“Real hold, real hair.”
- Why this opening
- Cut from the founder's TikTok with 11 million views. Their homepage line goes on screen from the first frame, so the claim is there before she shows the proof.
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Jaxon Lane · product first
“Protect it. Treat it. Repair it.”
- Why this opening
- Their own ad line, one product per step. AI builds the rain, the sun and the serum drop; the three products are their real catalog photos, so every label stays sharp. This version opens on the sunscreen instead of the rain.
- Nano Banana 2
- Kling 4.0
- ElevenLabs music
- Motion graphics in code (Remotion)
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Camel City Mill · problem first
“Struggle with sweaty feet?”
- Why this opening
- It's the first line of 51 of their 139 active ads, but only in the text. Here it's the first thing on screen, over the same video.
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BEHAVE Candy · product first
“After thousands of recipes and flavors tested, we landed on a formula that we loved.”
- Why this opening
- Cut from the founder's most-viewed TikTok. Most long-running candy ads open on the candy itself (81% vs 44% of new ones), so this version opens on their packs instead of a kitchen scene.
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Fractal Forest · product first
“Conqueror of mountains.”
- Why this opening
- AI builds the Himalayan rock, resin and tea; the tin is their own photo, so the label stays sharp. The cards copy their label: white paper, thin black rules, copper. This version opens on the tin instead of the resin.
- Nano Banana 2
- Kling 4.0
- ElevenLabs music
- Motion graphics in code (Remotion)
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Pickleball Central · offer first
“When you buy a paddle at Pickleball Central, you get our risk-free 30-day paddle test drive.”
- Why this opening
- Long-running paddle ads mention a guarantee far more than new ones (18% vs 3%), but none open with it. This one does, using their own ad.
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Shelter Skin · product first
“Oh wow, gorgeous. Oh my gosh, it smells so good.”
- Why this opening
- Cut from their most-watched TikTok. It opens the moment she breaks the seal, so the product is the first thing you see.
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Drink SALTT · product first
“No sugar. No dyes. No caffeine. No B.S.”
- Why this opening
- AI builds the world around their real packshot, so the label is their own photo and never gets garbled. In the finished AI product ads I studied, the first frame is the product or an ingredient, never a logo. This one opens on the pouch, and the cards copy the black panels on their label.
- Nano Banana 2
- Veo 3.1 Lite
- ElevenLabs music
- Motion graphics in code (Remotion)
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Birdie & Louie · their own cat first
“It's the favorite food, the first food that Ralphie, our cat, got the day that she came home.”
- Why this opening
- Cut down from the co-founder's four-minute pinned video. Their story opens on his own cat, the personal way the top cat-food TikToks start, before he answers the picky-eater question.
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WINPRO Pet · product first
“Soft chew that dogs love.”
- Why this opening
- Long-running dog-supplement ads open on the product more often than new ones (28% vs 17%). This version opens on their jar shot, which came at 66 seconds.
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Howdysnax · product first
“Authentic South African recipe.”
- Why this opening
- AI builds the coriander, pepper, desert and air-drying beef around their real bag. The yellow bars are their own Amazon graphics, and every line comes from their listing. This version opens on the bag instead of the spices.
- Nano Banana 2
- Kling 4.0
- ElevenLabs music
- Motion graphics in code (Remotion)
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Skimpies · claim first
“The undie alternative.”
- Why this opening
- Cut from the founder's TikTok with 1.4 million views, without the other creator's clip it replied to. Their site's line goes on screen from the first frame.
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Tour Aim Golf · problem first
“Struggling to find your swing path?”
- Why this opening
- Their 3.0 launch video is music only, so the opening has to work without sound. The problem line from their own ad copy goes on screen from the first frame.
UGC video ads for a supplement brand
Paid UGC ads for Meta, in Spanish for Mexico, from 180 days of sales campaigns, shared with permission. English subtitles on every video (turn them off with CC).
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Offer hook
“Up to 45% off: this is the best promo of the whole year.”
(translated from Spanish)
- Why it worked (hypothesis)
- The deal is on screen almost from the first frame and the shots change every couple of seconds, so it filtered for people already in buying mode and kept them past the hook.
- What I'd test next
- The same offer with the badge from frame one, plus a no-discount opening, to separate the hook from the promo.
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"Come with me to order" testimonial
“Come with me to order the supplement that finally fixed my insomnia and tiredness.”
(translated from Spanish)
- Why it worked (hypothesis)
- A native "come with me" format that shows the reviews and where to buy, so it filtered toward buyers; opening on the product page also lost the most viewers early.
- What I'd test next
- Open on the result or the package in hand, then the ordering walkthrough.
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Pain-point hook
“You lie down and your mind won't slow down.”
(translated from Spanish)
- Why it worked (hypothesis)
- A specific, relatable night-time symptom in second person: fewer people stopped, but the ones who recognized themselves bought.
- What I'd test next
- Hook text on screen from frame one in a tighter shot, told as personal experience instead of naming a diagnosis.
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How-to promise
“I'll show you how to sleep better in under 90 seconds, without melatonin.”
(translated from Spanish)
- What happened (hypothesis)
- The written promise stopped the scroll, but the next line was generic and no concrete tip arrived soon enough to convert.
- What I'd test next
- Cut the generic transition and go straight to step one, in a tighter shot with movement.
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Static ad
- of the account's top 5 sales videos by purchases were mine (out of 99)
- 2 of 5
- hold rate of my best video, second-highest of the 99
- 48%
- I wrote the scripts and edited the videos; creators recorded the footage and the media buying was done by the team.
- Hooks, cuts and on-screen text written in Spanish for the Mexican market; the static ad ran in Argentina.
- UGC scripts
- Hooks
- Meta Ads
- Spanish copy
Ads made with AI, for when there's no footage
AI for the parts there's no footage of: fully generated spec ads, digital twins of real people, and an event reel whose altar is generated. None of these has performance numbers to show; shown with the permission of the people whose likeness appears.
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Before/after transformation
“From this… to this.”
(translated from Spanish)
Generation cost logged per call, under a spend cap enforced in code; breakdown on request.
- GPT Image 2
- Veo 3.1 Lite first and last frame
- ElevenLabs music and SFX
- Beat-synced render in Python and FFmpeg
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Checklist hook
“If your magnesium bottle names the exact form, you've already got one out of four.”
(translated from Spanish)
Generation cost logged per call; breakdown on request.
- MiniMax H3
- ElevenLabs voice clone
- GPT Image
- Label tracking in code
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Curiosity hook
“The Mexican Embassy. The Japan–Latin America Cultural Association. The Catrina. And Mazda. What do they have in common?”
(translated from Japanese)
Generation cost logged per call, under a spend cap enforced in code; breakdown on request.
- Real 2025 walk footage
- GPT Image 2 stages
- Veo 3.1 Lite first and last frame
- ElevenLabs voice in Japanese
- Edited in Python and FFmpeg
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Creative director intro + visual pattern interrupt
“Hi, I'm the creative director of a marketing agency built on digital solutions… like this one.”
(translated from Spanish)
Cost: not tracked separately; this piece doubled as R&D for my AI video pipeline.
- HeyGen
- Seedance 2.0
- Nano Banana 2
- ElevenLabs
- Automated edit pipeline
- On the spec ads and the event reel I did everything: script, direction, generation and the edit.
- Home-décor spec ad for a building-materials store in Querétaro: a bare patio wall becomes a finished wood-slat wall, shot from one locked-off camera, then the ad closes on the store's real storefront and a WhatsApp button. Every frame up to the storefront is generated: GPT Image for the master shot and each installation stage, Veo 3.1 Lite first-and-last-frame clips for the installer, ElevenLabs voice, music and sound effects, all cut to the music's beat by my own render code. The panel is a generic finish, not the store's own product.
- Supplement ad: the licensed AI digital twin of a real person, kept consistent across every shot with MiniMax H3. The real product label is pasted onto the bottle frame by frame with my own code, so the text stays legible.
- Japanese promo reel for a Day of the Dead walk in Hiroshima: the walk's real 2025 footage on top and, below, a generated timelapse of the altar being built (GPT Image 2 for each stage, Veo 3.1 Lite first-and-last-frame clips), with a Japanese ElevenLabs voice, Japanese copy and motion graphics, built to Reels safe zones.
- A digital twin for a local-business marketing agency I consulted for: a VSL that carries its creative director's HeyGen twin through cinematic scenes built with Seedance 2.0 and Nano Banana 2, voiced with ElevenLabs.
- AI previz for real UGC creators: before a creator shoots, I make a cheap AI animatic of the script so she gets a shot-by-shot reference and the brief lands faster.
- GPT Image
- Veo
- MiniMax H3
- HeyGen
- Seedance 2.0
- Nano Banana 2
- ElevenLabs
- FFmpeg
How I work
My time goes to what sells: the hook, the pacing and the offer on screen. I edit in Premiere Pro and in my own code pipeline, which rebuilds the same techniques and leaves the repetitive parts (captions, reframes, versions) to AI tools. I'm looking for one full-time role with one brand, scoped by output: on a launch, 3+ strategic ads or content pieces a day.