Runna · Health & Fitness

The POV Playbook

Runna's longest-running video ads are 10-second silent clips that start with "POV:". They've been live for 8 months.

Strava's Runna (~$5.2M a month) has 533 live Meta ads. Its longest-running videos have no voiceover, no actor and no pitch. Here's the template.

Apptonic research · 4 November 2026 · See the ad board (30 ads)

The best Runna ads assume you already downloaded it.

1. The case in one table

• The four oldest videos in the table are 10 to 13 seconds long, and none of them has a voiceover. The one ad that talks is 52 seconds and gives away a real tip.
• 8 of the 9 videos run twice: once inside a dynamic (DCO) ad and once as a separate video ad. Runna doubles down on creatives that survive.
• Rank is days running among live ads. Meta doesn't show spend for these ads, and dynamic ads rotate creatives, so treat long-running as a strong hint, not proof.

7. Live examples

8. 20 hooks to steal

Lifted word for word from Runna's live ads. Swap the noun, keep the shape.

1. 1“POV: You started training with Runna, Strava's running training app, and now running feels like this...”
2. 2“POV: You went from struggling to run 5k to running half marathons in 12 weeks”
3. 3“POV: Runna's live pacing feedback got you a new marathon PB.”
4. 4“POV: You started training for a marathon with Runna.”
5. 5“Too slow. → Pace on point.”
6. 6“In your 20s, you'll download Runna on a whim and wonder if you should finally train for that half marathon...”
7. 7“It's very important that you train for that half marathon”
8. 8“in your 20s, you'll randomly download Runna one random day and wonder if this is the year you'll actually start running”
9. 9“I used to hate running... until I found Runna”
10. 10“I used to run the same pace and distance every day.”
11. 11“But no matter how consistent I was, I wasn't improving.”
12. 12“Now I'm running over twice the distance at a faster pace.”
13. 13“It gave me a structure I didn't even know I needed.”
14. 14“Keep your easy days easy, push hard on your speed days”
15. 15“Runna will tell you what you need to do and when.”
16. 16“Beginners running advice:”
17. 17“Miss a run? It adjusts. Progress faster? It adjusts.”
18. 18“You show up. We'll handle the plan.”
19. 19“You're capable of more than you think - you just need the right plan.”
20. 20“Training that does the thinking for you”

9. Make one with AI (copy-paste prompt)

Paste this into Claude or ChatGPT with your app's details.

You are a senior performance creative strategist. Write me 6 silent,
10-12 second "POV" video ads for my app, in the format Runna (a running
coach app) has kept live on Meta for 8 months.

The format:
1) 0-2s: a caption that assumes the viewer ALREADY uses the app, in the
   past tense, with one outcome. Shapes to use:
   - "POV: You started [using app] and now [activity] feels like this..."
   - "POV: You went from [before] to [after] in [timeframe]"
   - "In your 20s, you'll download [app] on a whim and wonder if..."
   - "I used to hate [activity]... until I found [app]"
2) 0-8s: one person filming themselves doing the thing, outdoors or in
   a real place, good light. The caption stays up. Optional: one small
   in-app moment as an overlay (a card ticked off, a status flipping
   from bad to good).
3) Last 3s: end card with the plan screen, the app name, store badges.
Rules: no voiceover, never open on the logo or app screen, one feeling
per ad, no feature lists in the video, nothing I can't back up.

For each ad: the caption, the shot list with timings, who's on screen,
and the overlay if any. Then write ONE caption (primary text) to run
under all 6 that carries the proof: my rating, my offer, 4-5 features.

My app: [name, what it does, who it's for, rating, offer]
My customer's words: [paste 10-20 reviews]

10. Study what's working in your category