ad-overlay-copy-engine: text overlays for ad images

Ad creative Cowork-ready

What it does

ad-overlay-copy-engine writes the text that lives on your ad image. Not the caption, not the body copy, not the headline in your ad manager. The three to eight words (or a single stat, or a testimonial pull-quote) that a thumb is about to scroll past in under a second.

It picks the right composition format for your angle (single headline, stat-forward, testimonial card, headline-plus-subhead, and more), writes the copy using battle-tested formulas matched to your industry and awareness level, and gives you typography guidance so the text is actually readable on a phone screen.

The output is ready to hand to whoever is building the image: the exact words, the layout type, and the readability notes.

When to reach for it

You’re generating a batch of Meta image ads and need the overlay text written, not just the visual concept.
You want to test different overlay angles on the same image: a stat version, a testimonial version, a direct headline version.
You’re optimizing an existing ad and think the overlay copy might be what’s killing the thumb-stop rate.
You need multiple awareness-level variants of the same ad: one for cold traffic, one for warm, one for retargeting.
You’re briefing a designer and need to hand them specific words and a layout spec, not just “write something punchy.”

Where it runs

Cowork ✓ Desktop ✓

ad-overlay-copy-engine works in both environments. It produces the overlay copy and layout spec. The actual image rendering (compositing the text onto a visual) happens in the image skills on the desktop app. In Cowork, it hands you everything you need to brief that step.

How to run it

Describe the ad and what you’re selling:

“Write overlay copy for a Meta image ad for examplebrand.com, selling their sleep supplement to cold traffic.”

Or tell it what angle and style you want:

“/um-toolkit:ad-overlay-copy-engine stat-forward headline for a DR-style ad, targeting busy moms who’ve tried everything.”

You can steer it toward a specific format:

Single headline: one line, maximum impact, no subhead.
Headline plus subhead: main claim up top, one supporting line below.
Stat-forward: a number leads, the headline follows.
Testimonial card: a pull-quote from a real customer, formatted for the image.
CTA overlay: the call-to-action is the visual focus (usually for retargeting).

What it needs from you

The product and the audience. The more specific, the sharper the copy: “women 35-55 who’ve tried keto before” beats “dieters.”
The awareness level, if you know it: cold (problem-unaware), warm (solution-aware), hot (retargeting). It’ll make a reasonable call if you don’t specify.
(Optional) The visual style of the image: minimal, DR/direct, editorial, native UGC. Voice calibration changes depending on this.

It works best after your brand has been onboarded, but it can run on any URL or a short description.

What you get back

For each ad concept:

Composition format: which layout type and why.
Primary text: the headline, three to eight words.
Secondary text: subhead or supporting line, if the format calls for it.
CTA text: if the format includes one.
Psychology principles used: which scroll-stop levers are active and why they apply here.
Awareness level targeted: so you know which audience segment this version is for.
Typography notes: minimum size, contrast guidance, placement in the safe zone.

A worked example

You: “Write overlay copy for a Meta image ad for a weight-loss supplement. Warm traffic, people who know the category but haven’t bought yet.”

ad-overlay-copy-engine:

Composition format: Headline plus subhead. Warm traffic needs a little more than a single line to tip the decision.

Option 1 (curiosity gap + specificity) Primary: “Why the first 11 days are different” Secondary: “Most people notice the change before week two.”

Option 2 (social proof anchor) Primary: “47,000 people switched last year” Secondary: “Here is what changed for them.”

Option 3 (problem reframe) Primary: “It is not your willpower” Secondary: “New research points somewhere else entirely.”

Composition note: All three run cleanly as headline-plus-subhead. Option 2 could also work as a stat-forward format with the number displayed large and the subhead below it. Typography: primary text at 40px minimum at 1080x1350, subhead at 28px, both in the 4:5 safe zone.

Psychology levers: Pattern interrupt (reframing a familiar failure), social proof (Option 2), open loop (Options 1 and 3 withhold the answer).

Awareness level: Solution-aware (warm).

Tips & gotchas

Eight words is the ceiling for most headline formats. Longer headlines are not read, they are skipped. If you feel like you need more words, you need a different format (testimonial card or stat-forward) or a different copy angle.
Vary formats across a batch. If every ad in your set is a single headline on a white background, your own ads start to look like each other in the feed. Ask for a mix of formats across the batch.
The composition format and the image style have to match. A testimonial card overlay on a high-contrast lifestyle photo is hard to read. Tell it what the image looks like (or will look like) so it can calibrate.
It will not invent a stat. If you want a number in the headline, give it a real one. It will write the best possible version of that number, but it will not make one up to fill the format.
Typography notes are for the person building the image. If that is you, treat them as a checklist before you ship. If it is a designer, paste them into your brief.

ad-overlay-copy-engine focuses on the text on the image itself. Pair it with meta-image-ad-generator to render the finished visual, apollo to ground the copy angles in real audience research, and hermes for the ad caption and body copy that surrounds the image.