3 Direct Response Video Ads That Made Millions

Most advertising fails because it tries to be clever instead of effective. It wins awards but loses sales. The ads we're examining today did the opposite. They sold. Hard.

These three campaigns generated measurable, immediate returns. One turned $4,500 into a billion-dollar acquisition. Another racked up 206 million views and built a mattress empire. The third is making waves right now by attacking a broken system.

What makes them work isn't creativity for creativity's sake. It's salesmanship. Each ad follows principles that have worked for over a century, principles that turn viewers into buyers within minutes.

Let's break down exactly what they did and how you can apply the same tactics to your campaigns.

The 2012 launch video for Dollar Shave Club crashed their website within 48 hours. Twelve thousand people signed up for a subscription service that didn't exist a week earlier. The production budget was $4,500. Four years later, Unilever paid $1 billion for the company.

The video opens with founder Michael Dubin standing in a warehouse. No fancy sets. No special effects. Just a man, a camera, and a direct pitch: "For a dollar a month, we send high-quality razors right to your door."

That's salesmanship in its purest form. The offer is specific. The price is exact. The value is clear.

The offer was impossible to misunderstand. One dollar. One month. Razors delivered. No confusion. No vagueness. Specific claims sell. General claims don't.

Every joke served the sale. The humor wasn't there to entertain. It was there to highlight the absurdity of paying $20 for razors locked behind glass cases. Each gag reinforced why the old way was broken and why this new way was better.

The demonstration was real. Dubin walked through the actual warehouse. He showed the actual razors. He explained the actual process. People trust what they can see. The warehouse wasn't pretty, but it was proof.

The call to action was immediate. The video ended with one instruction: sign up now. No "learn more." No "visit our website to explore options." Just sign up. Direct response demands direct action.

The subscription model removed friction. Once you signed up, you never had to think about razors again. The ad didn't just sell razors. It sold convenience. It sold freedom from a recurring annoyance.

Those numbers came from one video. One clear offer. One direct pitch.

Purple didn't tell you their mattress was comfortable. They showed you. They dropped raw eggs onto it.

The "Raw Egg Test" video has 206 million views. More importantly, it turned Purple from an unknown startup into a major mattress brand. The test became so famous that customers recreate it themselves and post the results online.

The concept is simple. Take a raw egg. Drop it onto a traditional mattress. It breaks. Drop it onto a Purple mattress. It doesn't.

That's not an ad. That's a demonstration. And demonstrations sell better than any claim ever could.

It's testable. Anyone with a mattress and an egg can verify the claim. When your audience can test your promise themselves, skepticism disappears.

It's specific. Purple doesn't say "pressure relief." They show exactly how their GelFlex Grid distributes weight differently than foam or springs. You see the difference. You understand the benefit.

It pre-empts the competition. No other mattress company was using the egg test. Purple claimed it first. Now when competitors try similar demonstrations, they look like copycats.

It creates repeatable content. Customers don't just buy Purple mattresses. They film themselves doing the egg test. Free advertising. Free proof. Free credibility.

It simplifies a complex product. Mattress technology is boring. Gel grids, foam layers, coil systems—nobody cares. But everyone understands what it means when an egg doesn't break. The test translates engineering into results.

The egg test works because it removes doubt. You're not asking people to trust your claims. You're showing them proof they can verify themselves.

In February 2025, Hims & Hers ran their first Super Bowl ad. The topic: compounded GLP-1 weight loss drugs. The message: the healthcare system is ripping you off, and we're the alternative.

This wasn't a feel-good brand story. It was a direct attack on the status quo. And it worked because it addressed a specific, timely frustration.

GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy became cultural phenomena in 2024. Everyone wanted them. Almost nobody could afford them. Insurance didn't cover them. Pharmacies were sold out. Prices hit $1,000+ per month.

Hims & Hers saw the gap and filled it with telehealth access to compounded versions at lower prices.

It names the enemy. The ad doesn't dance around the issue. It says directly: the system is broken. Prices are too high. Access is too limited. You're being taken advantage of.

It offers an immediate alternative. Frustration without a solution is just complaining. Hims & Hers gives you a way out: telehealth consultation, compounded GLP-1s, no insurance needed.

It capitalizes on timing. The ad ran when GLP-1 demand was at its peak and supply was at its lowest. Timing matters. An ad for snow shovels in July won't sell. An ad for weight loss drugs during peak demand will.

It uses specificity to build trust. The ad doesn't promise "better healthcare." It promises access to specific drugs through a specific process at a specific price point.

It removes barriers. No insurance. No doctor's office visit. No pharmacy runaround. The ad eliminates every excuse not to act.

The ad works because it identifies a real problem, agitates it, and provides a clear solution. That's the formula. It's worked for decades. It still works today.

These campaigns come from different industries, different years, different platforms. But they follow the same principles.

Be specific. Dollar Shave Club didn't say "affordable razors." They said "one dollar per month." Purple didn't say "comfortable." They showed eggs not breaking. Hims & Hers didn't say "better healthcare." They named the exact drugs and the exact problem.

Specific claims are believable. General claims are ignored.

Demonstrate, don't claim. Purple's egg test beats any written description of pressure relief. Dollar Shave Club's warehouse tour beats any promise about quality. Hims & Hers' direct comparison to traditional healthcare beats any vague statement about innovation.

Show the proof. Let the demonstration do the selling.

Make the offer clear and immediate. All three ads tell you exactly what to do next. Sign up. Buy now. Get started today. No confusion. No extra steps. Direct response requires direct action.

Solve a real problem. Dollar Shave Club solved the razor-buying hassle. Purple solved the "how do I know this mattress actually works" question. Hims & Hers solved the GLP-1 access crisis.

If you're not solving a problem, you're not selling. You're just making noise.

Test and measure everything. Dollar Shave Club tracked every signup. Purple tracked every view and every customer recreation. Hims & Hers tracks every telehealth consultation. You can't improve what you don't measure.

The ads that work are the ads you can prove work. Everything else is guesswork.

Study these ads. Watch them. Break them down. Then ask yourself:

The answers to those questions will tell you whether your advertising will sell or just look pretty.

Pretty doesn't pay the bills. Sales do.

by CH
for the AdAI Ed. Team