mimic22 problem-agitate hooks
Swap the highlighted blanks for your product. Each has a worked example.
1.You problem. Then you worse consequence. Every time period.
“You forget to water the plant. Then you overwater it to make up. Every single week.” · plant care
2.The worst part of activity isn’t obvious thing. It’s hidden thing.
“The worst part of moving isn’t packing. It’s finding the box with the kettle in it.” · home decor
3.If you’re still doing old way, you’re losing cost.
“If you’re still chasing invoices by email, you’re losing a morning every month.” · accounting software
4.Problem again? And it always happens right when bad moment.
“Phone at 4% again? And it always happens right when you need the boarding pass.” · phone accessories
5.Every time period, problem costs you thing. Most people never notice.
“Every grocery run, food you forgot about costs you money. Most people never notice.” · meal kits
6.You bought expensive thing and it’s problem after time.
“You bought nice white sneakers and they’re grey after three wears.” · sneakers
7.You know that moment when specific awkward moment?
“You know that moment when you go to pour the coffee and the milk has turned?” · beverages
8.Problem isn’t just annoying. It’s why bigger consequence.
“A messy diaper bag isn’t just annoying. It’s why you’re always 10 minutes late.” · baby products
9.Your thing is problem and you probably can’t tell.
“Your bike tires are probably underinflated and you can’t tell by squeezing them.” · bikes
10.Spent time on task again? There’s a reason.
“Spent your Sunday writing captions again? There’s a reason it takes so long.” · AI tools
11.The product you have is fine, until moment.
“The rain jacket you have is fine, until hour two of the hike.” · outdoor gear
12.Why does problem always happen on worst day?
“Why does your hair always frizz on the one day you have photos?” · haircare
13.Process is slow. Then worst outcome on day number.
“Hiring is slow. Then your best candidate takes another offer on day nine.” · recruiting
14.You good habit, but problem undoes it.
“You meal prep on Sunday, but by Wednesday it’s all soggy.” · kitchen gadgets
15.Number tabs, number apps, and you still can’t find thing.
“Four apps, two notebooks, and you still can’t find the meeting notes.” · productivity app
16.Dog hair on surface? It’s also in unexpected place.
“Dog hair on the couch? It’s also in your car vents.” · cleaning products
17.Cheap product feels like a win, until consequence.
“Cheap earbuds feel like a win, until one side dies on a flight.” · headphones
18.You lose thing every time you action.
“You lose half the flavor every time you store coffee in the bag it came in.” · coffee
19.Customers leave at step. You never see why.
“Customers leave at the shipping page. You never see why.” · ecommerce store
20.Your space looks fine in daylight. At night, problem.
“Your living room looks fine in daylight. At night, one ceiling light makes it a waiting room.” · smart home
21.You studied for time and forgot it by time.
“You studied vocabulary for an hour and forgot it by dinner.” · language-learning app
22.Your pet isn’t behavior to annoy you. It’s reason.
“Your cat isn’t scratching the sofa to annoy you. There’s nowhere better to scratch.” · pet products
Why it works
- A named problem feels personal. Viewers who have it lean in because the video is describing their week.
- The agitate step adds a cost the viewer hadn’t counted: the time, money or embarrassment the problem keeps causing. That makes the fix feel urgent.
- It creates a clean arc in very little time: pain, cost, relief. Short videos need exactly that kind of shape.
When to use it
Your product removes a recurring annoyance
Tangled cables, forgotten passwords, soggy lunches, dead plants: things that happen again and again agitate easily.
Buyers don’t know the problem has a fix
Showing the hidden cost first makes a solution they’ve never searched for feel needed.
You’re making direct-response ads
PAS maps straight onto an ad: hook, reason to care, product, call to action.
The cost of the problem is visible
Mold on a shower seal, a broken shoe strap, a cluttered inbox: show it, don’t just describe it.
When it backfires
- Fear-mongering. Inflating a minor problem into a danger (“this is poisoning your family”) gets flagged by platforms and kills trust.
- Agitating sensitive problems: health, appearance, debt, loneliness. Making someone feel worse about their body or money to sell to them is restricted in ads and feels cruel.
- Spending so long on the pain the video gets depressing. Agitate in one or two lines, then move to the fix.
- A fix that doesn’t match the problem you inflated. If you promise relief, the demo has to deliver it on camera.
How to film and caption it
The first two seconds
Open on the problem, not your face
First frame: the grey sneakers, the soggy container, the phone at 4%. Then cut to you reacting.
Act it, briefly
A two-second re-enactment (sniffing the milk, digging through the bag) makes the problem instantly familiar.
Make the switch a visible moment
A hard cut, a change of light or a hand reaching in for the product marks the turn from problem to fix.
Keep the fix in the same setting
Solve it in the same kitchen, desk or car where you showed the problem, so it’s a clear before and after.
On screen
Name the pain in the viewer’s words
“Soggy by Wednesday” beats “food storage issues”. Pull phrasing from reviews and comments.
Mark the agitate line
Color or underline the cost (“10 minutes late”, “half the flavor”) so it registers even on mute.
Change the caption look at the fix
A different color or a small “Fix:” label tells viewers the turn has happened.
Example: a kitchen gadgets video
Built on one of the lines above. What you say, and what's on screen.
- 0:00
“You meal prep on Sunday, but by Wednesday it’s all soggy.”
On screen: Opening a container of limp salad; caption “Soggy by Wednesday”
- 0:04
“So you throw it out and order lunch anyway.”
On screen: Container tipping into the bin; phone with a delivery app
- 0:07
“The fix is keeping the wet stuff apart until you eat.”
On screen: Hand placing a divided container on the counter; caption “Fix:”
- 0:11
“Dressing in the little pot, greens on top, grains underneath.”
On screen: Packing each section, top-down shot
- 0:16
“This one’s from Sunday. It’s Wednesday.”
On screen: Opening it to crisp greens; caption “Day 3”
Mimic style for this hook
Talk + demo
A hook to camera, then the product doing the fix on screen, with small clean captions that don’t crowd the demo.
Questions
What does problem-agitate-solve mean?
It’s a copywriting structure: name a problem, make the reader feel its cost, then present the solution. In short video the first two steps become the hook and the third is the demo.
How long should I agitate?
One or two lines. Long enough for the viewer to nod, short enough that the video doesn’t start to feel like a complaint.
Is problem-agitate manipulative?
It can be. Keep the problem real and proportionate, and avoid agitating insecurities about health, body or money. If the fix truly solves a real annoyance, it’s just good framing.
Does this work for software?
Very well. Show the messy old way (tabs, spreadsheets, copy-pasting) as the problem, then a screen recording of the fix. Mimic places screen recordings into your video after the hook.
Can I combine it with other hooks?
Yes. A stop-scrolling call-out (“freelancers, quick one”) followed by a problem line is a strong opener for ads.
Say the hook. Mimic does the rest.
Raw clip in. Captions, cuts, hook and product shots out.
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