Welcome back to Funnel Vision, the weekly newsletter that puts performance creative & growth marketing in focus. Brought to you by the crew at Ready Set.

The greatest April Fool’s prank could be that no one actually knows how the tradition started. Maybe it was a calendar mix-up. Maybe it was Romans in wigs. Either way, the tradition of laughing at confusion has some seriously confusing origins.

Here’s what’s inside today’s edition:

• What OpenAI’s viral drop really means for performance marketers

• How this ad combined testing + social proof for a 40% thumbstop

• The latest industry news you may have missed

Reading time: 5 minutes

AD INDUSTRY TRENDS

AI Images Just Got Scary Good. Here’s What It Means for Performance Creative.

Marketers and AI enthusiasts everywhere are (again) breathlessly declaring, “This changes everything.”

To say OpenAI’s latest image generation tool made waves is like saying Argentinians are mildly fond of Messi—a massive understatement.

AI-generated creations are already flooding feeds. And they’re… pretty good!

But with these impressive visuals comes the inevitable chatter—graphic designers are doomed, the future of ad creative has arrived, and everything in between.

All this hype prompts the question: Is this truly a tipping point for performance marketing? Or just another shiny object?

Let’s unpack it.

🧠 What Just Dropped

Last week, OpenAI introduced 4o Image Generation—a native, built-in image generator that replaces DALL·E as the new default. 

Predictably, the internet exploded with excitement over the new tool.

Social feeds flooded with Studio Ghibli-style renderings of memes and movie scenes, recreations of iconic ads featuring different products, and countless frighteningly photorealistic images.

It went so viral that OpenAI had to pause free access—Sam Altman said it was “melting GPUs.”

Naturally, we couldn't resist jumping in ourselves.

I’m re-watching Game of Thrones. (Don’t ask me why. Yes I know about season eight.) The medieval era is on my mind. So, I gave it a shot…

Here’s the prompt: Create an image of a fully-armored Destrier war horse with a medieval knight mounted on its back after a battle.

How cool is that?!

💥 Why Performance Marketers Need to Pay Attention

Until recently, AI image generation was mostly a novelty. Cool for mood boards and brainstorming, but hardly ready for prime time. 

Plus, the best tools were niche, tricky, or expensive. (Anyone else bail on Midjourney? Just me?)

But that's all changed.

With 4o, anyone can produce scroll-stopping visuals in minutes, directly in the chat interface we're all familiar with. For free.

We're talking images that rival professional photographers and illustrators.

Unlike previous tools, 4o even tackles tricky details—like rendering readable text. Sure, it's not perfect yet, but it’s come a long way from those weird AI squiggles.

Here’s our medieval fella from before, writing a recount of the battle…

Back to what this means…

The cost and speed of producing ad creative have dropped dramatically. What used to take a designer hours now takes a non-creative marketer minutes with a simple prompt.

Major caveat:

Despite this mind-bending quantum leap forward, there’s still one fundamental element—maybe the fundamental element—to running effective campaigns that still hasn’t been overtaken by AI, and perhaps never will.

To unpack that, we asked Susan, our VP of Client Strategy, to weigh in.

🚀 Where We Go From Here

AI just raised the speed limit—but performance still comes down to having the best strategy.

At Ready Set, we blend tailored creative strategies with deft tactical execution. Our team of performance creative experts know exactly what makes your audience stop, click, and buy—and we leverage the latest tools (yep, including AI) to move faster without sacrificing effectiveness.

Ready to unlock creative mastery through sharper strategies and technical precision?

Let’s talk →

CLICKABLE LINKS 👆️

🍎 French antitrust regulator have slapped Apple with a €150 million ($162 million) fine over their App Tracking Transparency (ATT) tool but reportedly refrained from asking “How do you like them apples?” as they did so.

🤷‍♀️ Amazon is reportedly the latest to make a last-ditch bid to buy TikTok with the ban set to take effect (again) over the weekend.

🤑 How Meta makes its money (hint: it’s ads).

👾 Why advertisers haven’t embraced gaming, despite it being $11.5B market by 2028.

😒 Tariffs set to be bad news for anyone relying on ad revenue, according to this analysis.

🤡 Fried chicken-flavored toothpaste. No more peach iced tea. Pickle milk (ew). These are the best and weirdest April Fool’s pranks from food brands.

AD OF THE WEEK ✨

This week’s ad from meal delivery brand Wild Alaskan Company leans into the power of social proof to simultaneously hook attention and build trust.

Brand: Wild Alaskan Company
Length: 40 seconds
Platform: Facebook & Instagram

WHY IT WORKS 🧠

🧪 Rigorous testing identified the winning hook. By launching four variations with different openers simultaneously, we quickly surfaced the messaging that resonated most. This methodical testing led to a standout 40.6% thumbstop rate.

🤔 It respectfully challenges the viewer. The ad earns trust with real praise, then flips the script: Why settle for less? This unexpected question, paired with mouthwatering visuals and raw, natural scenes, creates a moment of reflection that compels viewers to reconsider their choices.

🗣️ Social proof is the star of the show. Instead of reinventing the wheel, we leaned into what real customers were already saying. By pulling 5-star reviews into the spotlight, the ad feels authentic and trustworthy—tapping into relatable voices to drive signups.

Thanks for reading!

That’s all for this week. Seeya next time 🫶 

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