v5-fusion — ComEd hook + Roof structure, extended to Colorado.
Three composites built against the design × performance fusion thesis from n5ltcjng's grading + Frank's perf brief.
Cohesion beats template. Single-frame designs where the prop IS the message, paired with
utility-name pain hooks. Civic-publisher voice register; diagnostic CTAs, not transactional.
Single-frame cohesion. The chart, the pledge, the quote-card — each is the prop AND the message. No layered photo+text stacks (Rate Shock pattern). Editorial gravity over hype.
Voice register
Civic-publisher: Newsreader serif headlines, dated source-attribution where applicable, diagnostic CTA ("see if solar makes sense") not transactional. Lance Take 3 customer-empathy preserved at copy level.
Compliance posture
v4 BRIEF.md treated as current. No specific $ savings. No ITC / 30% / 2045. Xcel + ComEd by name (allowed). Source-quoted percentages on rate-hike claims (defensible).
★ Recommended launch set · Revised after Cross-LLM Round 3
Primary launch: A/B ad-neighbor-v1 + ad-loan-v1 in one ad set
Tier 1 (primary cohort):ad-neighbor-v1 (strategic top — Gemini 57/60, "best line in batch") + ad-loan-v1 (consensus highest avg 51.7). Different visual registers, both Tier-1 grade. Tier 2 (audience-segment ad sets, parallel to primary):ad-ev-v1 (EV-only) · ad-firsthome-v1 (first-time owners) · ad-retire-v1 (55-65, ⚠ legal review on "Lock the bill"). ⚠ Reversal from round 2:ad-spam-v1 + ad-network-v1 moved to HOLD (2/3 reviewers said "kill" — visual execution called templated/placeholder). ad-skeptic-v1 → repurpose as carousel, not static feed. Full reasoning in cross-llm-review-round3.md.
Per Wes redirect: "you guys are just remaking the exact same ads lmao - i want like a huge variety." Pivoted from polishing v3/v4 iterations. Four net-new angles, four distinct visual registers, no AI-bg, no templated top-bar. Each ad gets only the chrome its composition wants. Clone is cranking 7 more in parallel from a different angle list.
Grid autonomyAll marketsDark-mood CSS
"When the grid blinks, you don't."
Storm-night silhouette: dark neighborhood, one warmly-lit window with subtle solar-panel roof glint and a flickering lightning flash. Sells solar+battery autonomy without naming a competitor or utility.
Two-row timeline visualization showing Scenario A (solar on aging roof → panels removed + reinstalled mid-life) vs Scenario B (re-roof first OR both at once → clean alignment). Cream paper grid bg, drafting-memo register.
Form-style "Year-One Owner Tasks" checklist. Six routine maintenance items (refill fuel, replace filter, schedule tune-up, etc.) all crossed out with a red strike line — only one item remains: "Glance at the app once a month. That's it." Off-white form bg, JetBrains Mono accents.
Cooling shock · A/B vs v1All marketsThermostat dial register
"Your AC won. Your bill lost."
Crimson night-mode bg. Pulsing thermostat dial centered (98° at 6pm), tick marks around the rim, hot-zone arc in red, needle swings into the hot zone on load. Same headline as clone's `ad-summer-v1` (thermometer/receipts register) — paired creative A/B inside one ad set.
Civic-paper register. 5×5 grid of house silhouettes (25 total), exactly 5 fill green-with-panels in cascade as the page loads. Different psychological hook from the rest of the batch — collective benefit instead of individual ROI.
Phone-app dashboard mockup register. Realistic notch-display phone with live solar app — yesterday's total (47.3 kWh, ↑12% above forecast), generation-by-hour bar chart cascading in, peak-sun bars highlighted amber.
Parallel variety push from clone session ad31a131. Every ad gets a distinct visual register — map, icon-collision, document mockup, split-frame, checklist, chart, decision-tree, instrument, hub-and-spoke, subscription-card, radical minimalism, identity-card, glossary, diary, etc. Goal: deliberate non-templating. Full manifest with concept index at CLONE_MANIFEST.md.
Social proofAll (generic)★ TIER 1 PRIMARY
"Your block already did the math."
5×4 stylized neighborhood map, 9 solar-amber roofs scattered across the grid. Gemini round-3 #1 (57/60) — "best line in the batch." Strategic top pick. Pair with ad-loan-v1 in primary A/B set.
★ Hyper-local fork pattern · 4 markets shipped (IL · IL · MI · CO)
Implementing Gemini's round-3 specific suggestion ("test hyper-local versions with a stylized-but-recognizable map of a specific neighborhood in the target geo. Elevates from 9 to 10."). Same template, swap timestamp + headline + body per market. ~5 min per new fork. The 4 cards below are instances of one reusable mechanism, not 4 separate ads.
Social proof · hyperlocalLake Zurich, IL★ FORK TEMPLATE
"Lake Zurich already did the math."
Lake Zurich Snapshot · Sample 20 homes · Old Mill Grove Rd. Body: "9 of 20 homes on this stretch are already on solar." Summit's IL footprint per v4 BRIEF.
Social proof · hyperlocalCentennial, CO★ CO PAIRING
"Centennial already did the math."
Centennial Snapshot · Smoky Hill corridor. Brings CO into the per-market hyperlocal pattern — pairs naturally with the Xcel angle from ad-03 (rate-hike + neighbor-proof = double-frame on the same buyer).
Round-3 reversal: 2 of 3 reviewers want killed. Called "placeholder that never got finished." Split-frame concept is sound; execution called weak. Hold from launch — could rework with stronger visual craft.
Round 3: Gemini + Grok both flagged this as wrong format for static feed. Decision-tree information density needs scrolling/swiping to land. Repurpose as Meta carousel ad or LP content, don't ship as static. ⚠ Compliance: per-claim verification needed on "State programs still pay" + forward-looking framings.
Per-Wes direction: bumped headlines ~35%, body copy ~30%, CTAs ~17%. Added motion — entrance fade-up cascade on copy, ken-burns slow zoom on background, pulsing eyebrow dot, CTA arrow nudge. Click any tile to see motion live in the lightbox; PNG captures show settled state. Test: Ad 01 first — if direction lands, the rest follow.
Rate-hikeIllinois · ComEdv4 · bigger + motion
"Rates went up. Again."
Headline 92→124px. Body 26→34px. CTA 24→28px. Background ken-burns, headline + body cascade in, CTA arrow nudges.
H1 84→112px. Pledge items 22→28px. Mark dots scaled up 30→38px. Pledge clauses cascade in one-by-one (0.17s stagger). Kitchen-phone bg still here — separate task to redo as prop-IS-the-message.
H1 70→96px. Quote text 22→28px (Grok rec). Quote card switched from translucent glass to solid charcoal with amber top border per Grok critique — fixes the "card disappears against shadowed siding" issue. Robert Kenney name on its own line in small caps. Verbatim Kenney quote unchanged (compliance).
Copy revised against 90-day Reddit voice-of-customer data (boiler rooms / 888 numbers / "same usage bigger bill" / "socialize costs privatize profits"). Plus a 4th ad correcting the "30% federal credit ended → solar is dead" misconception that Reddit confirmed is killing 2026 buying intent across all four target states. v2 + v1 preserved below for comparison.
Rate-hikeIllinois · ComEdv3 · Reddit voice
"Rates went up. Again."
Body now mirrors Reddit's verbatim math pattern: "Same usage. Bigger bill. Every year." (4+ recent threads use this exact framing). Compliance-safe (no specific $).
Pledge clauses now Reddit-real: call center / two-hour script / door knocker / 888 number every week. Added italic body: "No boiler rooms. No robo-dialers." (r/solar gift line verbatim).
Xcel quote preserved verbatim (Meta-compliance depends on this). New italic frame above CTA: "Captive customer. Captive bill. Solar is the off-ramp." Channels Reddit's 397-upvote monopoly-anger.
Scoreboard prop: 3 active programs (Illinois Shines / Smart Inverter Rebate / IL Property Tax Exemption) vs 1 ended (Federal 30%, struck through). Body: "Three out of four still work." Outflanks competitors who tap-dance around the federal-credit change.
Same v3 structure, localized for Michigan: ComEd → DTE Energy, Illinois Shines → Distributed Generation Program / Michigan Saves. Ads 1, 2, 4 only (no MI Xcel — Xcel is CO/MN territory). New Detroit-metro Imagen background. All three aspect ratios (4:5, 9:16, 1:1) shipped. Michigan Saves financing program verified active 2026 (4.44–7.90% APR, $1k–$50k, 15yr terms).
Rate-hikeMichigan · DTEv3 · MI variant
"Rates went up. Again."
DTE-localized rate-hike ad. Body: "Solar locks your rate — and Michigan still credits solar owners for excess power." New Detroit-metro Imagen bg.
MI scoreboard: ✓ Distributed Generation Program · ✓ Michigan Saves Financing · ✓ MI Property Tax Exemption · × Federal 30% (ended Dec 31, 2025). MI Saves verified ACTIVE 2026.
New Pillars (built parallel by clone) — Reddit-direct creative
Net-new ads from untapped Reddit angles. All CSS-art, zero AI backgrounds — addresses the cross-LLM brand-credibility flag (Grok + Gemini both called AI bg a crutch). Each gets prop-IS-the-message visuals: phone screen with cascading "Unknown Caller" notifications (anti-spam), editorial pull-quote on newsprint texture (monopoly), two-column ledger with bar comparison (loan-vs-bill).
Anti-spamAll markets⚠ ROUND-3 HOLD
"Boiler rooms and robo-dialers"
Round-3 reversal: ranked #1 in round 2 (8.83); round 3 says HOLD — 2 of 3 reviewers wanted "kill," called visual "cluttered mess / templated / placeholder." Concept clever but execution doesn't carry. Don't lead with this. Compliance copy is solid (Unknown Caller + phone trees) — what's broken is visual craft, not message.
Option B — ship as declared Social Issue ad. Original populist version, Xcel named, pull-quote intact. Requires PUC docket / news-source cite on LP, accept SAC review. 2-4× CPM, restricted targeting (no household-income, no zip-cluster), longer review cycle. Keeps populist edge that drove the angle.
Option A — restructured, normal CPM. Drops Xcel-by-name + "Socialize/Privatize" pull-quote. Reframes around homeowner sovereignty. Frame line: "Solar isn't a discount. It's a category change — from renter to owner." Same pull-quote visual register as v1 so you can compare gravity at a glance. Standard ad-set targeting + CPM, faster review. Loses some populist edge.
"Never ever buy anything from a company who cold-calls you or knocks on your door."
Editorial pull-quote A/B variant against spam-v1's prop-style. Same anti-spam pillar, different rhetorical stance — wisdom-as-warning vs prop-as-pain. Attribution reframed from "r/solar top reply" to "Common wisdom from homeowner forums" (sidesteps anonymous-testimonial trap).
Same v3 copy, adapted for the other two Meta pathways. 9:16 (1080×1920) is for Stories + Reels — Ad 3's mountain backdrop particularly benefits from the extra vertical room. 1:1 (1080×1080) is for the square feed slot — tighter, copy still fits, but less image breathing room (especially on text-heavy ads 2 + 4).
Two research streams drove the v3 changes — both available in vault + linked here.
→ Meta ad policy review: compliance-checked the batch against Meta's Advertising Standards / Special Ad Categories / Personal Attributes / Misleading-content rules. Caught one HIGH-risk phrase ("Your bill keeps climbing") and fixed it. (Z:\hinesipedia\Clients\summit\rebuild-2026-05-14\v5-fusion\meta-policy-review.md)
→ Reddit voice-of-customer (90-day): 30+ verbatim quotes from r/solar, r/chicago, r/illinois, r/Denver, r/Colorado. Identifies what customers actually say about ComEd, Xcel, solar-quote spam, and the federal-credit-ended misconception. (Z:\hinesipedia\Clients\summit\rebuild-2026-05-14\v5-fusion\reddit-chatter-90day.md)
→ Cross-LLM review: Grok + Gemini + GPT each independently critiqued the v2 batch. Synthesis identified Ad 2's weak bg + Ad 3 as the high-ceiling pick. (cross-llm-review.md in this dir)
v2 — AI Photo Backgrounds + Branding
Iteration on Wes's note: photo backgrounds with opaque dark overlays, prominent Summit branding, solar-subject-matter visuals (rooftop solar / quiet home / mountain home). Same fusion copy, new visual register.
Imagen background: quiet kitchen with coffee mug — the calm before unwanted interruption. Pledge clauses anchor the bottom. Pledge IS the prop; image carries mood.
Seven reusable motion patterns documented end-to-end. Pure CSS, captured via Playwright at 1080×1350. Library:
chart-bars (rate-rising) ·
counter ramp (meter) ·
glow + ramp (paidfor) ·
sequential reveal (retire) ·
card-reveal + spotlight (subscription) ·
narrative quote-stack (toldyou) ·
scale-contrast (disproportion).
Any new ad can be motion-fitted in <10 min using one of these patterns. Sprint wrap notes in RESEARCH_NOTES.md.
5-beat narrative: each "they said X" quote appears in sequence (struck-through styling), then final "2026 reality" box gets glow accent. Reusable narrative quote-stack pattern.
Install bar snaps up fast and small; life bar rises slow + dramatic with overshoot easing; sustained green glow at end. Visualizes effort-to-yield disproportion through timing.
First iteration, CSS art only (no AI backgrounds). Kept for reference and comparison.
Rate-hikeIllinois · ComEdQuiz-Hook adset rec.
"ComEd Raised Rates. Again."
Chart-on-locked-line fusion. Rising burnt-orange bars (climbing rate) with a dashed amber horizontal (your locked rate with solar). Direct homage to ComEd-Copy headline — the 5.47% CTR-king.
Editorial "Practice Notes" magazine-spread. Four amber-circle × marks beside negation clauses, civic-publisher register. Voice line "On your schedule." pulled directly from Lance Take 3.
Quote-the-source. The utility's own CEO — Robert Kenney, May 15, 2026 — on the record: "up to 10.5% per month, starting late this year." Source-cited, defensible, civic-publisher gravity.
n5ltcjng's calibration matrix + Frank's per-ad performance data converged on the same pattern: the HIGH-design × HIGH-perf cell is held by cohesive single-frame designs where the prop IS the message, paired with utility-name pain hooks. Two anchors: Roof (Quiz Hook adset, $48.79 CPL, 28 leads, 3.14% CTR) and ComEd-Copy (Wasn't Annoying-Copy, $69.09 CPL, 16 leads, 5.47% CTR — CTR king).
These three ads attempt to bring that fusion into one creative each. Ad 1 fuses for IL. Ad 3 extends to CO with Lance-sourced ammunition. Ad 2 covers the anti-spam pillar (market-portable; eyebrow easily swapped to "Colorado Homeowner").
Source of the CO direction
Lance Sauter forwarded Robert Kenney's "Powering Colorado's Future" letter to Wes on 2026-05-15 at 17:56Z. Direct quote used: "the average residential customer who receives both electric and natural gas service could see a total bill increase of up to 10.5% per month, starting late this year."
Ad 3 uses the full clause including the "who receives both electric and natural gas service" qualifier so the quote is technically accurate, not broadened. Date-stamped (May 15, 2026), source-attributed (Robert Kenney, President of Xcel Energy — Colorado), so any compliance challenge is met by pointing at the utility's own published letter to customers.
Compliance review
v4 BRIEF.md treated as current. Cross-check against banned/allowed lists:
No specific dollar savings amounts ($/yr / $10K / etc.) — compliant
No federal ITC / 30% credit / Section 25D — compliant
No lease / PPA / TPO — compliant
No "$0 bill" / no 2045 / no net-metering reference — compliant
Utility names by name (ComEd, Xcel) — allowed per BRIEF
"60-second quiz" — allowed
"Vetted local installer" — allowed
"Illinois Shines · Open" program reference (no $ payout) — allowed
"10.5% per month" Xcel quote — not a specific dollar amount; sourced quote from utility's own letter
Open question on dollar-anchored copy
n5ltcjng's grading-doc open question, unresolved. The best-performing OLD ads (final-il-01 through final-il-05) use specific dollar amounts ($2,400/yr, $274, $3,072, $10K+) that v4 BRIEF explicitly bans. Two hypotheses: (a) BRIEF was tightened AFTER those shipped, OR (b) dollar copy is the reason they performed and the BRIEF over-corrected. These three ads ship compliant with the current BRIEF; if you/Frank confirm BRIEF is stale, dollar-anchored variants can be built in ~10 min each.
Recommended placements (per Frank's perf brief)
Ad 1 (ComEd Diagnostic) → Wasn't Annoying OR Wasn't Annoying-Copy adset. Direct A/B against the original ComEd-Copy (CTR king).
Ad 2 (The Pledge) → Quiz Hook adset (Roof's conversion-king home). Second variant alongside Roof.
Ad 3 (Xcel Letter Quote) → CO campaign. Note: per index.md tracker, CO has open delivery issues (SAC null, age 30–65 not 18+, CBO→ABO fix needed). These need resolving before scale.
Adjacent: per n5ltcjng's rec, also test moving the existing Annoying + Thought ads from the dead Countdown adset into Quiz Hook adset (independent of these three). HIGH-design ads in a dead audience.
Open questions for Wes
Dollar-anchored compliance call. Iterate $-variants of Ad 1 / Ad 3 in parallel, or hold compliant?
IL campaign state. You paused IL 2026-05-14 20:05Z. Unpause & add v5 as variants alongside existing, OR replace existing creative with v5 cleanly?
MI version? n5ltcjng recommended Roof-grade visual treatment for MI's strong voice creatives (Zero, Honest math). Swap ComEd→DTE; ~10-15 min/ad to localize.
CO Anti-Spam variant. Should Ad 2 ("The Pledge") get a CO-eyebrow swap variant, or stay IL-tagged since "vetted local installer" is geo-conditional (per Frank's flag, true IL/MI, unverified CO)?
Sign-off attribution. Should any of these credit Lance / Wes by name, or stay institutional "Summit Energy Solutions"? (v5 round had this same open question.)
How to redline
Open any PNG full-size by clicking the card image. HTML source is one click away if you want to tweak copy in place — everything is a self-contained file, no build step. To redline: text comments in this page (when CF Pages access-comment is set up) OR drop edit notes in Z:\hinesipedia\Clients\summit\rebuild-2026-05-14\v5-fusion\blueprint.md, OR Telegram.
