PreTestAds scores video ads and static images — upload either one and AdCortex™ tells you how the brain responds. These tutorials cover everything from your first upload to squeezing out a higher score.
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Sign up at pretestads.com. Choose a plan to get started — credits never expire within your billing cycle and extra packs roll over forever.
From the dashboard, click New Analysis. Drag and drop your video file (MP4, MOV, or AVI). We accept files up to 500MB.
AdCortex™ runs your video through the neural engagement model, compares it against 76 proven top-performers from the TikTok Creative Center, and builds your full breakdown. You'll get an email when it's done.
Your score is a percentile — 72 means your ad is better than 72% of proven top-performing TikTok ads on predicted viewer attention. Below the score you'll see your full breakdown: Hook Strength, Attention Drop, Peak Moment, and Purchase Signal.
AdCortex™ was built for video — but a static image can be scored too. We convert your image into a 10-second video (the same frame held for 10 seconds) and run it through the same neural engagement model. This simulates someone looking at your packaging on a shelf, a banner ad on a website, or a print ad in a magazine for 10 seconds.
Upload a JPG, PNG, or WebP. Max file size is 20MB. High-resolution images are automatically resized to 1920px on the longest edge before processing — so don't worry about scaling it down yourself.
Go to New Analysis and drag your image into the drop zone. You'll see a note that says "Image detected — we'll convert this to a 10-second visual stimulus for scoring." Hit Score My Ad. It uses 1 credit and goes through the same pipeline.
Your results page looks identical to a video analysis. Hook Strength reflects how strongly the image activates the brain in the first 3 seconds of viewing. Since it's a static image, activation will be flat across the timeline — the absolute level is what matters, not the shape of the curve. A strong score means the image itself is visually engaging to the brain.
Use image scoring to compare packaging variations before going to print, test banner ad creatives before buying placements, or score product photography before running it as a static Facebook or Instagram ad. Run multiple versions, pick the highest scorer.
Copy your AI Report and open Gemini. Upload your image alongside the report. Ask it: "My image scored weak — what specifically about this design is failing to engage the visual cortex, and how should I fix it?" Gemini can see your image and the neural data together and give you specific design feedback.
Your score is a percentile rank against 76 TikTok Creator Academy top-performing ads. A score of 60 means your ad outperforms 60% of those proven ads on predicted creative engagement. Strong = 70+. Moderate = 40–69. Weak = below 40.
The average brain activation during your first 3 seconds. This is the most important number — if your hook doesn't grab attention immediately, nothing else matters. A weak hook means people are gone before your message even starts.
The exact second where the brain's engagement falls and stays low. This is your scroll risk moment. If it shows up at 4s on a 15s ad, most viewers are mentally checked out before you've said anything. That section needs to be cut or reworked.
The single highest neural engagement frame in your video, excluding the final 2 seconds (which can be a model artifact). This is the moment your ad hits hardest — and the best frame to use as a thumbnail. Jump to that timestamp in your video to grab it.
The average brain activation during the final 30% of your video — your CTA window. High activation here means the viewer's brain is still engaged when you make your offer. Low activation means attention has already dropped off before your offer registers, no matter how good the offer is.
The chart shows activation second by second. Green zone = benchmark-level engagement. Yellow = moderate. Red = low. The drop-off line marks where attention crashes. Peak dots mark your top 3 engagement moments.
Gemini can watch video. That means you can show it your actual ad alongside your neural data report and it will connect the two — telling you what is happening on screen at the exact moments your score drops or spikes. Claude and ChatGPT work with text only, which limits the feedback to general advice.
At the bottom of your results page, click Copy AI Report. This copies a plain-text version of your full neural breakdown — score, all four metrics, the full timeseries data, and context about what each number means.
Go to gemini.google.com. Start a new chat. Upload your video file using the attachment button (you'll need Gemini Advanced for video). Then paste your AI Report into the message.
Try prompts like: "My attention drops at 8 seconds. What is happening on screen at that moment and how should I fix it?" or "My hook strength is low — watch the first 3 seconds and tell me what is failing." The neural data tells Gemini where to look; the video tells it what to say.
Once you rework your ad based on Gemini's feedback, re-score it in PreTestAds. Track whether your Hook Strength and overall score improve. Repeat until you hit 70+.
We ran a real KAYAK Paris flight banner through PreTestAds. The image showed a busy aerial cityscape with white text over it reading "Paris $374" and a red Book Now button. Hook Strength came in at 57/100 — solid initial grab. But by second 4, engagement hit 0. Late-window activation (the conversion signal) was only 46%. The brain was tuning out before it ever reached the CTA.
The Attention Drop at 3 seconds had a clear cause: the aerial background was packed with thousands of tiny buildings and cars. Once the viewer's brain finished reading the text, it wandered into the visual noise — and got fatigued. High-complexity backgrounds are one of the most common killers of conversion-window attention. The brain checked out before it reached the offer.
We copied the AI Report from the results page and opened Gemini. We uploaded the original KAYAK image alongside the report and asked: "The attention drops at second 3. What's happening visually at that moment and how should I fix it?" Because Gemini can see the actual image and read the neural data together, it mapped the drop-off directly to the chaotic aerial background and gave specific design recommendations — not generic advice.
Gemini generated a new version: replaced the aerial cityscape with a clean ground-level Eiffel Tower shot and added a dark vignette behind the text. The conversion signal jumped to 75%. But Hook Strength dropped to 24/100 — the text had been placed directly over the tower, masking the landmark. The brain couldn't instantly categorize the image in the first second. Better finish, worse start.
The fix was compositional. We shifted the Eiffel Tower to the left third of the frame and moved the text stack — "Paris / $374 / Book Now" — to the right side against clean open sky. The hook recovered to 72/100 at 0.0s. Late-window activation stayed strong at 82%. Now both the opening grab and the conversion window were working. The remaining drop at seconds 3-4 was identified as a dark rooftop cutting into the bottom right corner.
Gemini's final recommendation: remove the dark architectural foreground on the bottom right and replace it with a warmer, softer sky. The result hit 89/100 at 0.0s and late-window activation of 76% with a perfect 100/100 peak at second 8. The brain was instantly reading the price, not getting distracted, and locking onto the CTA at the end. Three iterations turned a cognitively exhausting ad into a conversion asset.
V1 got people to glance. The final version held their attention through the decision window. Late-window activation went from 46% to 76% — a 65% lift in the brain engagement that precedes a click. The hook trade-off was minimal (-31% on raw hook strength) because the original spike was artificially high due to visual chaos, not genuine clarity. A chaotic ad can grab the eye. A clean ad keeps it.
Score your image in PreTestAds. Copy the AI Report. Open Gemini, upload your image alongside the report, and ask it to explain the specific drop-off. Regenerate a version with Gemini. Re-score it. Watch the numbers move. Each iteration takes about 5 minutes. Most images show meaningful improvement within 2-3 rounds.
If your Hook Strength is low, nothing else matters yet. The brain decides in the first 3 seconds whether to keep watching. Try leading with the most visually striking or emotionally surprising moment in your video — don't save the best for later.
If Attention Drop shows up early, everything before that point is working — everything after isn't. Trim the dead section entirely or replace it with something faster-paced. Shorter is almost always better.
If your Peak Moment is in the second half of your video, you're burying your most engaging content. Try restructuring so that high-activation moment happens in the first 5 seconds.
If your Purchase Signal is weak, viewers are mentally gone by the time you make your offer. Either shorten the whole video so the CTA comes before attention drops, or make the offer more immediate — show price, product, or outcome sooner.
General advice only goes so far. Upload your video and AI Report to Gemini and ask it to identify exactly what's on screen when your score drops. Then fix that specific thing, re-score, and see if it moved.
Each credit is one analysis. Use them like a testing budget — score your original, make targeted changes, score again. Even a 10-point improvement on Hook Strength can meaningfully change conversion rates.