The Proof Guide
What The Proof needs to produce reliable results.
The Proof turns creative descriptions into strategic frameworks. The sharper your description of the creative work, the sharper the decoded strategy. This guide shows what good creative input looks like, and where descriptions usually fall short.
The Five Essentials for a Good Decode
1. The Idea
What good looks like: A clear description of the creative concept, not just the execution format. "A campaign that reframes waiting as an act of self-care, positioning the brand as the antidote to impatience culture. The core idea is that good things happen to those who wait, and the brand rewards that patience."
Red flags:
- "We want to do a funny ad" (format, not idea)
- "A social media campaign" (channel, not concept)
- "Something bold and disruptive" (aspiration, not description)
2. The Experience
What good looks like: What does the audience actually see, hear, or interact with? "A 60-second film opens on a woman standing in a queue. Instead of frustration, she's visibly relaxed. The queue transforms into a garden. Voiceover: 'While you were waiting, something grew.' End frame reveals the product with tagline."
Red flags:
- No description of what the audience encounters
- Only the end frame or logo placement described
- "It would be very visual" (tells nothing)
3. The Message
What good looks like: What takeaway or shift is the creative trying to create? "The intended takeaway is that this brand understands you are busy and respects your time. The emotional shift is from guilt about indulgence to permission."
Red flags:
- No stated message or intended effect
- "We want people to buy our product" (objective, not message)
- Message contradicts the described experience
4. The Channels
What good looks like: Where the work runs and why those channels were chosen. "The campaign leads with a 60-second TV spot during prime time, supported by 15-second cutdowns on Instagram Reels and TikTok. OOH in transport hubs extends the waiting metaphor into the real environment."
Red flags:
- No channels mentioned
- "It would work everywhere" (no media thinking)
- Channel choice contradicts the implied audience
5. The Context
What good looks like: What prompted this work and what constraints shaped it. "This is a brand relaunch following two years of declining consideration scores among 25-34s. The client mandated that the heritage logo must appear. Budget is mid-range: enough for one hero film and social extensions, no celebrity."
Red flags:
- No context for why this work exists
- No mention of constraints or mandatories
- "The client just wants something new" (no strategic context)
Good vs Weak: Side by Side
Weak Input
"Nike ad. Running. Motivational. Just Do It energy. Would be on TV and social."
Result: A generic decode that could apply to any Nike campaign from the last 30 years. Low confidence across all fields. The Proof has to infer almost everything.
Strong Input
"A Nike campaign targeting lapsed runners aged 30-45 who stopped running during the pandemic and feel guilty about it. The creative concept is 'Your First Kilometre Back': a series of short films showing real people's faces during their first run back, set to their actual breathing audio, no music. The films end with 'The hardest step is the next one. Just Do It.' Runs on Instagram Stories (vertical, designed for thumb-stopping), YouTube pre-roll (15s cutdowns), and paired with a Strava integration that celebrates when someone logs their first run in 90+ days. The brief was to reconnect with lapsed Nike Running app users and drive reactivation, not acquisition."
Result: A precise decode with high confidence. Clear audience tension (guilt about lapsing), identifiable position (permission to restart, not performance pressure), specific convention challenge (running ads usually celebrate peak performance, not starting again).
Common Pitfalls
| Pitfall | Why It Weakens the Decode | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Describing the brief, not the creative | The Proof needs to analyse the work, not the assignment | Focus on what was made, not what was asked for |
| Evaluating instead of describing | "It's really bold and disruptive" tells the AI nothing | Describe what makes it bold: what does it show, say, do? |
| Single-line descriptions | 100 characters is a minimum, not a target | 500+ characters dramatically improves decode quality |
| Missing the audience | The AI cannot decode audience tension from "everyone" | Who specifically is this talking to? |
| No channel context | A TikTok campaign implies a very different strategy to a cinema ad | Always include where the work runs |