Competitor Case Studies — what we already know (reuse before paying for new data)

Distilled findings of every competitor study done so far (Sept 2026). Markets: men's testosterone / organ supplements (US), plus one multi-product health advertiser (Resilia) and the scaling-shops scan. Each case lists: product · offer · what wins · the mechanism → angle pattern · routing · the lesson that transfers to ANY brand.

Live sites (English, noindex): intel.machineroom.app (Meta library study: Elora, Primal Edge, Primal Viking, Mars Men; /en/primaledge), angles.machineroom.app (statics study: Primal Viking, Mars Men, Ancestral, Primal Storm; /focus = cortisol · libido · fat & aromatase), quizmap.machineroom.app, radar.machineroom.app (Resilia), scaling.machineroom.app, testo-map (desires & avatars, July), offers.machineroom.app (offers and gifts of ~120 brands), brands.machineroom.app (Meta library links). Data: /root/workspace/competitors/ (adlib, angles-site, *-statics, quiz-map, offers), /srv/intel/data/*.json, /root/workspace/radar/, /root/workspace/scaling/.

Budget shares below are estimates (rank-weighted on Meta's impressions order, weight 1/rank^0.8).

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1. Primal Edge Bison (buy-primaledge.com) — the reference competitor for organ capsules

• Product: 4 wild bison organs (liver, kidney, heart, testicle), 60 capsules, "Natural Testosterone Support". Same product Wildhorn sells under another brand.
• Offer: $49.95/month subscription (crossed $100); $75 one-time; Buy 2 Get 1, Buy 3 Get 2; 60-day "flat gut or your money back"; 50,000+ men, 4.8/5, "sold out 12 times last year". Stack: Shopify + GemPages advertorials + Kaching Bundles.
• Library (100 % of ads): 573 ads, 214 active, 62 videos, 22 landing pages. In July: 45 of 46 active ads were IMAGES — statics carry the account. Peak 262 live ads (April) → ~46 (July); traffic 26.5k/month, −21 % in 30 days, 76 % US; audience 98 % men, 35–44 > 45–54 > 25–34 > 55–64.
• Estimated angle share: man boobs ≈ 58 % · belly ≈ 27 % · comparison ≈ 10 % · libido ≈ 4 %. Mechanism: aromatase/estrogen ≈ 77 % (cortisol, absorption, deficiency marginal).
• The thesis that carries everything: "A beer belly isn't a fat problem. It's an estrogen problem." 4 organs = 4 jobs (blocker, regulator, burner, source). Anti-category: "It's a FOOD problem."
• Top statics now: "12 YEARS OF THIS?? GONE IN 21 DAYS" (7 variants) · "FLAT CHEST IN 3 WEEKS. [50,000 Men Did It.]" · "COUNT THE ANIMALS." · "Reindeer. Bison." · "DOES YOUR CHEST STILL LOOK LIKE THIS?" · "REINDEER VS BISON" · authenticity UGC "These two bottles look almost identical".
• Most duplicated ad ever: "I Tested 3 Organ Supplements For My Beer Belly" (13 copies), run through a persona page ("Mark Wilson").

• Routing: /pages/bb-lp advertorial "I Tested the 2 Top-Selling Organ Supplements… Only One Actually Worked" (76 ads) · man-boobs PDP "For Men With Man Boobs Who've Tried Everything" (87–100 ads, incl. a UK variant with Highland cattle) · /products/beer-belly "For Men With a Belly That Won't Budge" · listicles "10 Reasons Men 50-58+ Are Finally Losing the Man Boobs", "10 Things No One Tells Men Over 45 About Man Boobs" · cortisol advertorial "The Belly That Won't Budge Is NOT Fat. It's Cortisol." · libido PDP "…I STILL Couldn't Stay Hard When She Reached For Me." · advertorial "You Haven't Taken Your Shirt Off in Front of Anyone in How Long?".

• Formats that win: us-vs-them table (most duplicated format) · anatomy/mechanism (torso cutaway, visceral MRI, magnifier on estrogen) · product hero + 4 glowing organs (black/gold) · raw UGC (medicine cabinet, sticky note "this one works", shelfie) · cinematic ranch · all-text pattern interrupt (apology letter, official notice) · patriotic promo. Video signature: bottles that TALK (beef vs bison sketch).

• Weakness: shrinking live ads and traffic; market possibly tiring; "the original vs the copycats" is open.

• Transferable lesson: one mechanism, pushed hard on 2 body-zone angles (chest, belly) with a dedicated PDP per angle, beats a spread of 10 angles. Persona PDP headlines ("For men with X who've tried everything") are a cheap congruence win.

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2. Elora Goods (eloragoods.com) — a same-product challenger

• Product/offer: "American Primal Bison" capsules; $32 (vs $75), 3 bottles $60, 5 bottles $90; 90-day guarantee "chest back or every penny back"; 80,000+ men; a "doctor user" story.
• Library: 122 ads (121 active), 15 videos, 7 landing pages. Est. share: comparison ≈ 35 % · belly ≈ 29 % · man boobs ≈ 29 %. Mechanism: aromatase ≈ 56 %, deficiency ≈ 20 %.

• Almost everything is a comparison chart: "WANTED FOR CRIMES AGAINST AMERICAN MEN" (top, ≈ 12 %) · "3 ORGAN SUPPLEMENTS. 1 BEER BELLY. WHICH ONE ACTUALLY WORKS?" · "READ THE LABELS. YOUR BODY ALREADY CAN." · "THE FRONT IS MARKETING. THE BACK IS TRUTH." · authenticity line "30 DAYS WASTED. DON'T DO WHAT I DID." / "$75 GONE." / "WATCH OUT FOR SCAMS." / "KNOW BEFORE YOU BUY." / "5 THINGS TO CHECK.".

• Routing: /pages/comparison "I Tested the 2 Top-Selling Organ Supplements…" (copied structure) · advertorial "The Hormone Your Doctor Measured but Never Explained" · listicles "10 Reasons This Beer Belly Melter Is Trending for Men 45-65 in 2026", "…Finally Losing the Soft Chest (It Was Never Fat)" · a quiz "Find Out What's Really Behind Your Belly, Energy, And Drive".

• Lesson: a late entrant in a category full of look-alikes turns "fakes and copycats" into its main angle (buy direct, read the label). When the product is commoditized, authenticity + price become angles of their own. Also: a challenger copies the leader's best advertorial structure 1:1 — the skeleton is the asset.

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3. Primal Viking (primalviking.com) — reindeer organs, the widest angle spread

• Product: freeze-dried reindeer organs (liver, heart, kidney) + beef testicles + Arctic herbs (rhodiola, sea buckthorn, nettle), 48 capsules. Offer: "60 % / 63 % OFF" subscription — 1 jar $49.99 (was $125), 2 jars $45.99/jar (bestseller), 4 jars $37.49; refill every 48 days; 30-day guarantee; 19-minute countdown + "24 bottles left". 100,000+ / 149,214+ men.

• Library (top 250 impressions + 100 latest): est. share belly ≈ 47 % · man boobs ≈ 12 % · libido ≈ 11 % · size ≈ 9 %. Mechanism: deficiency ≈ 41 %, none ≈ 16 %, cortisol ≈ 14 %, blood flow ≈ 10 %, age decline ≈ 9 %.

• Top creatives: "THE 90-DAY CHALLENGE. MELT 27 LBS OR MONEY BACK." (≈ 9 %, 84 days) · "GOODBYE DAD BOD BELLY" (119 days) · "+1 INCH IN 30 DAYS OR YOUR MONEY BACK" (copied from Primal Storm) · "SUCKS OUT STUBBORN BEER BELLY IN WEEKS" · "DO NOT IGNORE THIS CHANGE" (156 days) · "DISSOLVES LOVE HANDLES & CORTISOL BELLY BY DAY 28". Statics winners stayed live 206–285 days; videos 151–264 days. Best video winners: "13 years of beer belly / man boobs gone in 9 days" and a celebrity strongman series.

• The pattern: one product, one big promise ("your belly, man boobs and fatigue are not age, they are your hormones"); the villain changes, the solution never does (testosterone, estrogen, cortisol, sugar, thyroid → reindeer organs). Bridge = Vikings ate reindeer heart, liver and testicles.

• 16 angles in the statics study, incl. cortisol through DANDRUFF ("it was never the shampoo"), the wife POV ("my husband got soft, then I saved him"), "your labs are 'normal'. You're not.", GLP-1 ("not one log, the whole fireplace"), joints → a second product (joint balm + cod liver oil bundle), health fear (what fat does to organs), anti-TRT.

• Routing: "one landing per villain" — sex/size → libido page; man boobs → man-boobs pages; belly → "10 reasons beer belly" → "7 reasons"; cortisol → "You're NOT Fat, You're Inflamed from High Cortisol"; GLP-1 → its page; joints → the second product; everything general → the catch-all advertorial; the quiz (quiz-reindeer) receives the most ads (201).

• Lesson: a product with a vague mechanism ("deficiency") can carry many angles if each villain gets its own landing page; new angles are found in odd symptoms (dandruff) that the same villain explains. Watch for angles they copy from a smaller brand (size guarantee from Primal Storm).

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4. Mars Men (mengotomars.com) — the proof-driven stack

• Product: "Boost" 11 ingredients with clinical doses on the label (tongkat 500 mg, shilajit 400 mg, cistanche, fenugreek, boron, zinc, vitamin D 4,000 IU…); new "Ignite" focus drink. Offer: "50 % OFF FOR LIFE" $59/month (was $118) + "$70 in free gifts", free shipping, 90-day "Higher T or your money back", HSA/FSA eligible; media-partner codes at 60 %.

• Library (top 150 + latest 100): est. share generic T ≈ 28 % · energy ≈ 14 % · GLP-1 ≈ 12 % · generation ≈ 12 % · belly ≈ 11 % · man boobs ≈ 9 % · face ≈ 8 %. Mechanism: cortisol ≈ 26 %, endocrine disruptors ≈ 26 %, aromatase ≈ 16 %, none ≈ 16 %, SHBG ≈ 11 %.

• Top creatives: "50 % OFF FOR LIFE" (≈ 11 %, 39 variants; generational comparison with grandpa) · "THIS DEAL WON'T LAST LONG" (152 days) · "BUILT FOR MEN WHO REFUSE TO SLOW DOWN" · "I quit TRT, started Mars Men. Got leaner than I ever did on injections." (149 days, 45 variants) · "Lose Fat, Not Strength." (GLP-1, 152 days). Oldest winner of all four brands: "We Made Too Much" (493 days).

• Positioning: enemy #1 = TRT ("Don't take T. Make T."), enemy #2 = underdosed proprietary blends. Proof = bloodwork numbers (219 → 499, 254 → 861), Trustpilot, doses on the label, a medical board (Oxford PhD). Tone: Mars/astronaut universe, masculine and funny. Lo-fi sticky-note statics among historical winners.

• Routing: one "10 reasons" listicle cloned per angle (weight loss, GLP-1, TRT, modern man); proof ads → proof page "THEY LAUGHED WHEN I DECLINED TRT, BUT WHEN THEY SAW MY LABS…"; quiz quiz-v6 for cold audiences (10 questions, 5 hidden personas). Avoid copying: fake media partnerships (NY Post, Thrillist co-branded pages).

• Current tests: Ignite launch (11 of 30 recent statics), a cannabis hook ("SMOKE WEED EVERYDAY?") that sends to the generic T quiz.

• Lesson: in a level-4 market, proof of the INPUT (doses, bloodwork) and a clear enemy outside the category (TRT) carry a generic angle; the offer itself (reason-why discount) can be the longest-running winner.

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5. Ancestral Supplements (ancestralsupplements.com) — the catalogue brand

• Product range: grass-fed beef organs from NZ/Australia — Beef Liver (hero), Thyroid, FEM (women), MOFO (men), Minerals, Digestive Enzymes. Offer: "Subscribe & Save 45 % for life" + stacked free gifts (tallow, minerals, magnesium spray, tote, e-book); "Buy 4 Get 2 FREE"; 60-day / 365-day (FEM) guarantees; 3 million+ customers, 32,000+ reviews.

• Winners: statics live 232–450 days; half of the winners are Christmas ads (caution: TrendTrack may have missed their end dates).

• Pattern: no single big angle; one product per need, one angle per product. Real engine = the OFFER ("THIS DEAL IS INSANE", stacked gifts with crossed-out values). Soft mechanism everywhere: "nose-to-tail wisdom" + "modern food leaves gaps" + "like supports like" + quality (freeze-dried, third-party tested).

• Most copyable format: Instagram-story UGC (a hand holding the bottle + 3 testimonial bubbles).

• Shift: women 30–50 (PMS, perimenopause, postpartum: 13 of 30 recent ads). MOFO for men: "Why Men Today Feel Half As Powerful As Their Fathers" → the "Masculine Energy Gap"; "Morning Wood Returns (Wife Approved)*".
• Lesson: a soft mechanism + a big perceived-value offer can sustain a catalogue for years; seasonal (holiday) creatives can be evergreen winners; "like supports like" is a reusable belief bridge for organ products.

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6. Primal Storm (primal-storm.com) — the blunt one

• Product: 5 herbs with doses on the label (tongkat 400 mg 100:1, fadogia 300 mg, beetroot 500 mg, ginseng, piperine), 3 capsules/day; FlowRevive (prostate) given free. Offer: every 28 days, 1 month $49, "BUY 2 GET 1 FREE" $98 (most popular), 3+2 $147; free e-book; 60-day guarantee "less than 2 % ever claim it"; 8-minute countdown.

• Winners: young brand — statics 136–203 days.

• Pattern: the guarantee IS the headline ("+3 INCHES OR MONEY BACK", "SHE'LL FORGET HER VIBRATOR OR MONEY BACK"); forbidden things said through metaphors (banana, cucumber, hot dog, eggplant, melting popsicle) and mascots (the jar lifting weights) to pass moderation. Mechanism: "The Nigerian Protocol" (fadogia used "for generations"; size chart by country). Offer "Buy 2 Get 1 Free" remixed endlessly (3D mascots, birthday cake, shipping box: 9 of 29 winners).

• September pivot: "Prediabetes killed your erections, we'll fix it. Simple." (13 of 30 recent), with 33-step prediabetes/diabetes quizzes ("your personal blood flow plan", A1C level) and the free prostate bundle; also in Spanish for US Hispanics. "Performance AND prostate: why choose?" (DHT/estrogen → T down AND prostate up — two products for one cause).

• Lesson: a narrow sub-avatar with a medical trigger (prediabetic men) resets sophistication for a saturated desire (erections); the quiz qualifies the trigger; a free second product turns one cause into two benefits. Metaphor objects are how sexual templates survive — decode them (template-reading §2.5).

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7. Cross-brand synthesis (testosterone market, Sept 2026)

Desire map of the market (testo-map, July: Mars Men, Primal Viking, Zapply, Voy): (1) shirt off without shame — the most monetized; (2) desired again by his wife — the most emotional, proof = her sentence; (3) energy and drive back — volume; (4) keep his edge; (5) fix it without needles; (6) animal organs. Gaps noted then: the worried wife buying by proxy (only Zapply), GLP-1 riders (emerging).

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8. Resilia (resilia.shop) — reading a multi-product advertiser with the radar

• 3 products: aged odorless garlic (heart/circulation), cinnamon (blood sugar), oil of oregano (gut/parasites/"feeling off"). 37 of 38 pages push a single product; pages are disguised as health review sites.
• Oregano = pillar: two oldest winners live 13 months ("Craving sweets all the time? Still bloated?", "Still feeling off no matter how clean you eat?"), most winners, dozens of launches a day through pre-landers (parasites, GLP-1, men 40+, prostate, gut reset).
• Garlic = pushed hardest now: launched in summer on "Take Control of Your Heart Health Naturally?", dozens of winners, zero cuts, ~9 disguised review pages.
• Cinnamon = in test: "Support Healthy Blood Sugar — All Day Long?", no winner yet, launch pace slowing, sent straight to the PDP (no advertorial).
• Cadence: 150–220 new creatives a day in waves; 1 in 4 cut creatives die in < 1 week; creatives that survive 2 weeks often last 1–2 months.
• Lesson: read a big advertiser per product: which product has the oldest winners (pillar), which has the most launches and no cuts (push), which goes direct to PDP without winners (test). Pre-landers and disguised pages per angle are where the angle work lives.

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9. Quiz funnels (Mars Men vs Primal Viking)

• Mars Men: custom app, 10 linear one-tap questions (~90 s), no branch, verdict in 3 levels (nobody is healthy), named root causes, a projection chart "+60 % T by [date 3 months out]" that sells the 90-day supply, 5 hidden personas in the URL, no email asked (a gated version exists in code), long sales page after. 4 of 10 questions change nothing.

• Primal Viking: Shopify theme section, 18 questions (~3–4 min) with body pictures, height/weight, an event

  • date (the only branch → countdown "86 days away"), a T-score capped at 58 + "biological age", plan with dated milestones, then the PDP with 2 jars on subscription preselected; A/B test of a "SKIP QUIZ & BUY NOW" button (~50 %). 3 of 18 questions change nothing.
• Both ignore the answers on the landing page. Lessons in research-playbook.md §10.

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10. Scaling shops scan (28 Sep)

Shops created 15 May–15 Jun 2026 with ≥ 10 active ads: 4,302 domains → 1,276 scaling (≥ +50 % active ads in 4 weeks); 72 curated, 22 in health/supplements; dominant new health angle: lymphatic-drainage drops (5 brands). Product watchlist (not launched without a go): astaxanthin 12 mg, kids' multivitamin + omega-3, R-ALA 600 mg, taurine (pets), Ceylon cinnamon 7,200 mg, black seed oil… Lesson: when a new product shows up in 5 young shops at once, the mechanism is fresh — the window for a level-1/2 claim is short.

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11. The Wildhorn worked example (the system applied to one brand)

• Research (12 Jul) on Primal Edge → 5 angles: A1 beer belly = estrogen (king) · A2 man boobs / puffy nipples · A3 wild vs farmed · A4 "I tested 3 organ supplements" · A5 anti-waste ("I spent $1,750", "12 pills", "a FOOD problem"). Secondary: day 3/7/14/30 timeline · ancestral/patriotic
  • holiday promos · scarcity/authenticity · cortisol belly + GLP-1 twist · "the doctor said it's age".
• Top 5 headlines: "BEER BELLY GONE IN 21 DAYS. ONLY ONE BLOCKS THE CONVERSION." · "MAN BOOBS? DON'T HIDE — MELT THEM." · "I Tested 3 Organ Supplements For My Beer Belly. Here's The Truth." · "FARMED REINDEER vs WILD AMERICAN BISON" · "Supplements failed you. This won't."
• Locked angle (26 Jul): "Your fat is not fat." (one angle = one landing page).
• Brand kit saved (1 Oct): research.md, angle-01.md, product.md, product photo, creatives.jsonl (/root/workspace/wh-remix/kit/). 79 templates sorted into 9 families, the 5 angles spread across each.
• Review rounds then produced the template-reading rules (0/79 → 6/10 → 26/34 first-try validation).
• Differentiation still open: bison, reindeer and beef sources are all "taken" — attack as "the original vs the copycats" (L4) or find a new proof/mechanism; guarantee and offer locked by the founder.