Blueprint Worked example Before / After Sam batch — final All ads Skills Lessons Protocols

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wildhorn-static-ads/wildhorn/failures-catalogue.md · 201 lines
Every rejected try, grouped by failure type, with root cause and fix — plus a 12-point pre-flight checklist.
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Failures catalogue — every rejected try, grouped by failure type

Every try Adrien rejected (Looms) or that our own full-res QC rejected before he saw it, across run 1 (#1–#79, batches B1–B9) and the Sam batch (S1–S83, rounds R1–R4). Format: ad · try → what happened → root cause → fix that got it validated → rule. Use it as a pre-flight checklist: before sending a spec, scan the failure types below and ask "am I about to do this again?"

Numbers: run 1 needed 261 generations (258 + 3 refused) for 79 ads, 0 validated on the first try, rounds per ad 2: 51 · 3: 21 · 4: 4 · 5: 3 (6 for #35). Sam batch: 133 logged calls (125 ok, 8 refused/failed) for 83 ads; 24 ads needed a fix.

1. Imported THEIR product world (A2, A7) — the #1 run-1 killer

Ad · try	What happened	Root cause	Fix → validated	Rule
#2 B4	drew an ARM in the cutaway	template = GLP-1 muscle-loss product, arm = THEIR problem zone	B5: same style, belly cutaway, arm hanging naturally	A2
#23 B3	template's lab logo replaced by our product photo	didn't read the logo slot as a brand slot	B4 "Wild Bison Lab" — still THEIR brand formula ("Angry Nose Lab") → B5 our mark in the sticker	A2, C7
#26 B3	kept a hair ribbon	hair = their product symbol	B4 measuring tape (our result symbol)	A2
#36 B4	brisket in the background	meat = their product (jerky/meat)	B5 capsules flanking the jar	A2
#37 B4	powder pouring = colostrum ritual; looked like a killed bison / bison poop	copied their product's mechanism (milk/powder)	B5 rancher's board of tagged organs + living bison	A29, C14
#39 B4/B5	chocolate pour	Huel = chocolate shake	B6 recognizable organs falling into the jar	A2, E11
#61 B8	kept THEIR pineapple	pineapple = vaginal-probiotic taste joke	B9 banana from below, "She Calls It Heaven ;)"	A7
#69 B8	kept the pineapple ring	same	B9 glazed donut ring (still weak)	A7
S7 R1	(avoided) worms = their parasite mechanism	—	shock via OUR problem (melting belly)	A2, A15
S18 R3	poured organ POWDER into the beer	their product is a powder; ours is capsules	R4: capsules beside, beer poured into the pint	A30
S50 R3	rotten vs fresh orange	the orange was their sexual symbol	R4 bloated pear vs slim pear	A23, A7
S47 QC	Barbie sequin skirt left on our Ken	inventory missed a prop of their customer	regenerated without it	C5
S71 QC	cowboy still holding THEIR tub	same	regenerated with our capsules	C5
QC B4 #38	template's cow kept under the jar	animal not named in the swap	"a wild American bison, NOT a cow, no spots"	C16

2. Off-angle — not the beer belly (A14, A24, A31)

Ad · try	What happened	Fix	Rule
#2 B2	"Not the muscle" promise	back to estrogen	A5
#6 B2	"Beef vs Spaghetti" — no belly on screen	"Abs vs. Beer Belly"	C1
#23 B3	image didn't read as a beer belly	unmistakable beer-belly cutaway	C1
#57 B6	drive only; asked for a beer-belly version → B7 tailor not readable	B9 back to the template's sexual joke, nothing added	A4, A14
#68 B7	"belly" not "beer belly"	"The beer belly fix…"	B2
#74 B8	drive only ("Leaner. Harder.") → asked beer belly → B9 "Flatter. Harder."	Adrien kept B8 in the end	A14, A26
S2 R1	GLP-1 faces	waist-up, belly = before/after	A14
S10 R1	pure libido (validated, but questioned)	rule: fuse when it fits	A14
S35 R2	"Outperform your 30s"	"Outperform your beer belly"	A14
S42 R3	bubbles didn't say beer belly (try 1 later validated)	2-line bubbles	A24, A26
S52 R3	exploding brain	fat vs lean clay man	A24
S56 R3	"every beer night" = hangover	"losing the beer belly"	A24
S57 R3	man-only shirt-at-the-pool line	woman angle tied to his belly	A24
S79 R3 try 2	beer belly highlighted on a man-boobs template	try 1 (man boobs only)	A31, A20
S80 R3	"After-40 changes hit different"	"After 40, It Won't Leave On Its Own..."	B14, A24

3. Copy unclear, vague or too clever (B5, B6, B9, B14, B15, B17, B18, B19, A27)

Ad · try	What happened	Fix	Rule
#8 B2	"Your belly-fat routine" (doesn't exist)	B3 morning pill stack → B4 hide-the-chest routine	B18
#8 B3	routine not on an aggressive angle	B4	B18
#11 B2	"waist size does!" — twist illogical	"…unless it's your belly!"	A27
#25 B1	"your 12 supplements" — nobody gets it	"T-BOOSTERS"	B17
#29 B1	"From farmed to wild" — product problem	"Dad bod → Bison bod"	B19
#38 B4	"12 pills every morning, belt never moved"	fat burners + buttoning my jeans	B5
#43/#44 B5	"1 notch tighter"	old jeans fit again	B9
#65 B7	"shirt off since day 21" — off for what?	"melt his beer belly before you drain him"	B6
S9 R1	"You can't farm this" — too abstract	named the thing + what it does (both tries then accepted)	B14
S29 R2	"see your belt buckle again"	"a flat belly again"	B15
S80 R3	"After-40 changes hit different"	plain sentence	B14
Batch 01 all	research headlines pasted (R9)	template's own words	A6

4. Added things the template doesn't have (B1, B13, B6, B12, C7)

Ad · try	What happened	Fix	Rule
Batch 01 all	context line appended to every ad (R10)	removed; R12 same amount of text	B1
#4 #5 #6 B1	extra bottom line / too much text / squeezed bar	template slot count	B1
#57 B8	"Beer belly gone. The beast is back." under the image	removed	B13
#65 B8	invented "in 21 days"	no deadline	B6
#22 B3	jar added (template had no product) — validated but noted	add none	C7
QC B4 #33 #35	jar added where template has none	"NO jar / NO product" written explicitly	C7
c0232 QC	guarantee written twice	once	B1
#79 B8	(opposite) review format without the signature	"- Jessica M."	B12

5. Didn't copy the template's words, mechanism or action (A6, A17, A19, A21, A22)

Ad · try	What happened	Fix	Rule
#14 B1	changed the text although same angle	kept their words	A6
#16/#17/#18 B1	rewrote winning headlines	word for word	A6
#58 B6	clay belly blob vacuumed	B7: the jar itself fat, label intact	A6, C6
#62 B7	design changed because GPT refused	B8 exact copy via Flux + composite	A6, D1
#63 B7	"Step 2: watch the dads stare"	"Step 2: let no one hit"	A6, E1
S11 R2	jar not on her head	—	D6
S11 R3	photoreal + jar on her head	the jar IS her face, painted	A21
S11 R4	regenerated the scene again	Loom 5: their photo edited + jarswap	A25
S14 R2	flipped "Lost my waistline"	copied	A19
S18 R2	capsules next to the beer	the template POURS	A17
S29 R3	style changed with the wording	try 2 as template, words only	A22, D13

6. Wrong scene logic or props (A3, A12, A18)

Ad · try	What happened	Fix	Rule
#70 B7	shower copied (hair-loss logic)	scale scene, feet on the scale	A3, A8
#75 B8	kids' beds kept	living room on game night	A12, A13
S15 R2	moved to shoelaces (indirect)	jeans button + "FLATTER BELLIES"	A18
S33 R2	bed (sleep-product logic)	kitchen, pushing a beer away	A3
S56 R4	background doesn't fit (validated anyway)	—	A3

7. Organs rendered wrong (C2, C3, C14, C15)

Ad · try	What happened	Fix	Rule
#35 B4	raw organ chunks — disgusting	B5 capsule wall	C2
#35 B5	capsule wall not instantly "bison organs"	B6 butcher chart	C15
#35 B6	clear but lost "billboard made of the product"	B7 slab of real tagged organs	C3
#39 B5	organs not recognizable	B6 heart/liver/kidney/testicle + tags	C2
#40 B4	generic capsule	B5 transparent capsule with organs	C2
#70 B8	capsule worse than B7	B9 reuse the B7 capsule	E3, A20
#70 B9	veins on the heart — disgusting	(validated) no veins	C2
#71 B8	organs looked like meat	B9 recognizable	C2
#76 B8	capsules only	B9 "organs, organs, organs"	C2
S17 R2	brown dried organs = dung	R3 copy the template's fresh organs	C2, C14
QC B7 #35 #61	organs raw and glossy	(then) freeze-dried — later reversed by S17	C2 history

8. Visual fidelity misses (C4, C5, C6, C9, C10, C12, C13, C17, C18, A8, A9, A10, A16, A23)

Ad · try	What happened	Fix	Rule
#2 B3	changed side, dropped the arm (ugly)	same side/framing as the template	C13
#4 QC	photoreal instead of Pixar	name the render style	C5
#10 B2	lost the Mars Men illustration	B3 same style, our 48-year-old	C5
#13 B1	before/after barely different	obvious cues	C12
#16 B2	jar squashed in a narrow slot	lock proportions, resize slot	C6
#16 B3/B4	result not rewarding; orange glow forgotten	B5 small orange glow on the result	C4, C18
#22 QC B3	jar covering the hero (split organ)	jar small in a corner	C6
#26 QC B4	tape hid the wordmark	wrap off the label	C6
#57 B8	jar floating on her palm	held firmly	A8
#57 B9	jar too small (validated)	match template product size	C17
#58 B7	their product design better	—	C10
#61 B8	template style not respected	—	C5
#65 B8	flat font on her back; jar off the lounger	sunscreen bubbles (Nano Banana Pro); jar on the lounger	A10, A8
#65 B9	template quality higher (3D product, text texture)	validated	C10
#73 B8	text not centred on the eggplant	centred on its axis	C9
#73 B9	small text glued to the headline	template spacing	C9
#77 B8	two different bodies	one body cut in half	A9
#77 B9	navel not on the cut (validated)	—	A9
#79 B8	jar not in front of his face	in front of the face	A8
S8 R1	silhouettes facing away	face the result	A16
S8 R2	first silhouette not aggressive	huge belly, arm, push right	C18
S33 R2	phone badly held	natural hands	C11
S55 R3	woman should be on top (validated)	—	A8
S58 R3 try 2	lost the way she held the jar	try 1 kept	A20, A8
S74 R3	two lean stomachs	one fat, one lean	A23

9. Avatar wrong (A11)

Ad · try	What happened	Fix
#10 QC B2	copied the template's young man	"late 40s, greying" + "do NOT copy the template's person"
#79 B8	young man in the sexual scene	older man
S55 QC	man too young	late 40s, greying, grey stubble
#18 QC (c0381)	women in a men's ad	men only

10. Not aggressive / shocking / sexual enough (A4, A15, B10)

Ad · try	What happened	Fix
#47 B5	good but weird	B6 lights-on bedroom ("the greatest")
#57 B6	bison horn not a phallus	cake log kept
#62 B7	watered down to pass GPT ("so it's shit")	Flux + composite exact copy
#65 B7	"be more aggressive"	sexual "drain him" line
#69 B7/B8	visual didn't carry the sexual meaning	donut ring (still weak)
S7 R1	button pop vs worms	belly melting like wax
S8 R2	belly not aggressive enough	bigger, pushing right
S24 R2	stat too soft	benefit claim

11. Production / pipeline failures (D1, D6–D10, D13)

Ad	What happened	Root cause	Permanent fix
c0123 / c0262 batch 01	OpenAI blocked ("sexual") even without template	bare/soft male chest	product-only / shirt-based visuals; later Flux/Seedream + composite (D1)
#60 B6	blocked ("man boobs" + bare torso)	same	"Your chest isn't done" with objects
#62 B7	blocked even the template itself	same	objects only, then Flux (D1)
S11 R2	fallback dropped the head jar	composite placed 1 jar, inventory said 2	D6 lint parity check
S55 S58 S74 S79 R3	Seedream full ad: garbled label, typo "beer bell belly", wrote "crossed", headline on the label	Seedream can't do text/products	D7: scene only + composite; `seedream_full` banned
S8 S18 S35 S43 R3	"WILLDHORN" standalone logo	GPT misspells small wordmarks	D8 horn icon only; lint blocks bare WILDHORN line
B4 #35, B5 #35	"WIILDHORN" / "WILLDHORN"	same	horn icon for small slots
S58 QC	emoji rendered as boxes in composite	font lacks emoji	D9
S42 redo	"OK" ×3, no image	template was .jpg, spec said .png; crash reported OK	D10: check path, count files
S29 R3, S33 R3, S35 R3, S55 QC, S79 QC, S80 R4	spec `tpl` pointed at another ad's template	copy-paste slips in spec files	D13: assert `tpl == sorted(templates)[num-1]`
run 1 B1–B9	3 moderation blocks logged; many tries	no decode, no inventory	A1, A13

12. Regenerating something he had validated (A20, A26)

Ad	What happened	Fix
#2 B3	redrew a liked illustration	copy shape/side/framing
#23 B3	rewrote text that batch 01 had better	start from the better version
#70 B8	dropped the B7 capsule he loved	reuse B7 capsule
S18 R2/R3	moved away from try 1's idea	back to try 1 + only the named change
S58 / S79 R3	made a try 2 after try 1 was right	`sell_override.json` = try 1
S42	questioned try 1, later validated	latest verdict wins

Failure → prevention checklist (run it on every spec)

Did I list THEIR product, symbol, body part, logo, material, copy formula — and swap every one? (A2, A7)
Is every line about the beer belly (or the template's own angle if it's man boobs)? (A14, A24, A31)
Same number of text slots? No added line, deadline, disclaimer, signature? (B1, B6, B12, B13)
Would a stranger get WHAT it is and WHAT it does in one read? Simplest words? (B14, B15)
Same angle as the template → did I keep their words, visual mechanism and ACTION? (A6, A17, A19)
Why is the scene here? Is our problem directly visible? Props = our problem's props? (A3, A12, A18)
Organs recognizable, fresh, appetizing, no veins, never a generic capsule? (C2, C14)
Same render style, same placement and gesture, same product size, text spacing and anchor? (C5, A8, C17, C9)
Our 45–60 greying man everywhere? (A11)
As aggressive/shocking/sexual as the template? (A4, A15, B10)
Sexual → fallback engine + composite spec with every placement; no Seedream text; horn icon only; no emoji in composite; correct template file? (D1, D6, D7, D8, D9, D13)
Is anything here already validated? Then don't touch it. (A20)