5 Tips to create high-impact explainer style video ads
Written by Mehdi Hussen | 31st July 2025
Table of Contents
With scrolling habits accelerating and attention spans shrinking, brands have only seconds to deliver value. According to WyzOwl, 96% of people watch explainer videos to learn about a product or service. MarketingProfs also reports that 51% of executives under 40 have made a purchase, and 46% have engaged with a YouTube ad after watching a work-related video
This means explainer videos are built for conversions, not just awareness.. Explainer-style video ads simplify complex ideas, speed up onboarding, align teams, and drive higher-impact campaigns.
Let’s break down five focused tips to streamline production and create stunning explainer-style video ads.
1. Collaborate in Iterations - Then Build a Reusable Video Library
Start by aiming for a crisp, accurate, and clear message. You’ll likely need to revise the content several times to sharpen strong ideas and remove unclear or ineffective parts.
Build a video library
Treat explainer ads as part of a growing video library supporting repeatable use cases like onboarding, product walkthroughs, and internal communications.
Start with core templates inside simpleshow and develop a set of branded, modular videos that can be easily updated or adapted for future use. When repurposing content for external channels like Instagram or LinkedIn, tailor the edit by shortening the runtime, simplifying the voiceover, and refining the framing to match the feed behavior.
Review your video content monthly to update outdated sections, create shorter cuts, and refresh visuals.
Each month, review videos that require an update, a shorter cut, or improved visuals. Strong explainer content deserves longevity, but it also requires ongoing maintenance.
Collaborate on explainer videos without the back-and-forth chaos. Simpleshow provides your team with a single space for project communication. Use it to draft scripts, preview scenes, and leave comments right where the edits happen.
2. Script with Precision—Then Trim Mercilessly
Great explainer-style ads start with a clear, purposeful script that flows logically from problem to solution. From the problem your audience faces to the specific action you want them to take.
For example, Slack uses animated icons and repeated visual themes (e.g., color-coded chats) to reinforce messages about channels, collaboration, and workflow.
Use simpleshow’s AI-powered scripting tool
simpleshow’s AI-powered scripting tool can turn raw ideas into structured narratives. It maps your message to visuals and suggests clearer phrasing as you progress.
Want to see it in action?
Check out this video to learn more about how Simpleshow’s story generator works.
Follow this simple structure:
Add bolding for the framework:
- Trigger – Identify the problem.
- Tension – Highlight the consequences of ignoring it.
- Turn – Introduce your solution.
- Takeaway – Give one clear action to take.
Pro tip + example
This tip works exceptionally well for novel products that require concept clarity. Say you’re making a video ad on print-on-demand for artists.
Don’t start by listing platform features or comparing services like Printify and Printful. Instead, begin with the tension artists face: high production costs, inventory headaches, and limited reach. Then shift the story to introduce a solution.
Platforms like Printful and Printify allow artists to sell their work without managing inventory or shipping. For those who prioritize product quality, brand control, and premium fulfillment, Printful often becomes the preferred choice.
3. Customize Templates - Stay True to Your Brand
Creating explainer-style video ads requires leveraging templates to maintain consistent visuals and voice, reflecting your brand.
What to do:
Start with a goal-specific template
simpleshow’s storyline templates provide a structured approach to building your explainer video, broken into chapters, with prompts and real-world examples to guide each step. Choose from business, educational, or casual formats. Or start with a blank template for full creative control.
Customize the templates
Begin with a storyline template that aligns with your objective behind the explainer video, such as onboarding, training, or sales. Then, replace placeholder visuals with your product images or brand icons.
Videos by Pendo suggest how they use themes of blue, purple, and gold colors.
Customize with your brand colors, fonts, and logo for a polished, consistent identity.
Example
You could be selling on Shopify a very niche product: modular desks for remote teams. Even here, starting with a sales & marketing storyline template that helps with pre-structured script flow.
4. Lead with a Visual Hook That Stops the Scroll
Open with a visual hook that creates curiosity and prevents viewers from skipping predictable content. Think of a visual that feels out of place, oddly relevant, or emotionally charged, which can make someone stay just long enough for the real message to kick in.
What to do:
To pause people from scrolling, your first frame should challenge visual expectations by using the following elements:
Motion
Captures attention when timed with intention. A slow pan, a quick swipe, or a delayed reveal can break viewer autopilot.
A good example is the Spotify Advertising Academy explainer ad, which relies on a zoom-out with panning motion.
Asymmetry
Force the eye to explore. Instead of centering everything, place key objects off-grid. For example, left-anchored visuals with contrasting movement can immediately draw focus.
White space tension
Leave enough emptiness as a design choice. For instance, a sparse frame with one unexpected element, such as a blinking cursor, creates psychological discomfort that makes people stay.
5. Design for Retention, Not Just Reach
The most effective explainer-style videos feel worth rewatching.
They’re well-paced, visually balanced, and structured for recall. This is how you can create one with retention as a central philosophy:
The most effective explainer-style videos feel worth rewatching.
They’re well-paced, visually balanced, and structured for recall. This is how you can create one with retention as a central philosophy:
Reinforce Key Points Visually—Don’t Just Say Them
People retain more information when the core message is reinforced through what they see. So, you need to sync your voiceover with focused, repeated visual cues that back your message.
Let’s say your video explains a three-step process:
- Visual communication over plain words! Make a unique icon or animation for each step you mention.
- Opt for consistent color-coding throughout each step of an explainer video ad, allowing viewers to connect visually across scenes.
- Bring all steps back as a final recap screen to close the loop.
- Add a text overlay of subtitles or captions wherever possible to make people read and understand the information presented in a video ad.
Add Interactivity Where It Deepens Engagement
If you plan to send an email about the video, affordable email marketing software can help you deliver it effectively. Create interactive explainer video ads to engage viewers actively, helping them absorb moreinformation, retain it longer, and feel more connected to your message.
Interactivity taps into that layer of cognitive engagement, turning a passive explainer into a guided, self-paced experience.
Want to see this in action? Take a look at Schwinn’s interactive bike assembly guide, built with simpleshow.
Wrapping Up
An explainer-style video ad must keep the message unmistakably clear because users are overloaded with noise. The best ones are those that hook fast, flow with intention, and land with purpose.
If you want your audience to remember your message and act, start applying these tips today.
Ready to apply these tips? Try Simpleshow for free and explore its full potential before you invest.
Author's bio
Mehdi Hussen is the founder of Ranking Bell, a B2B SaaS SEO and content marketing agency. Through his performance-driven marketing strategies, Mehdi helps transform your SEO and content into powerful growth engines, accelerate customer acquisition, and boost the MRR of your SaaS business. Connect with him on LinkedIn to explore his strategies.
