Talking heads, cartoons, VSLs: how Finso tests every ad format with Hedra

Customer Spotlight — Finso

Key facts from this interview:

• Finso is an AI creative agency founded by Marcel Gabel and his co-founder Mario that produces AI-generated video and image ads for e-commerce brands, with a focus on supplements.
• The agency runs a wide range of ad formats out of one platform: talking-head creatives built from base clips plus B-roll, cartoon and VSL-style explainer animations, documentary-style pieces, and hook-driven formats like a Snapchat-style overlay that transitions into the explanation.
• Beyond video, Finso generates images in Hedra for Google native ads — feed-style images and headlines that open into an advertorial funnel.
• Finso uses Hedra as its base platform for both video and image generation, relying primarily on Kling and Veo 3.1 models.
• The agency's workflow runs from ad research (Meta Ads Library, PiPiAds, Kalodata) through scriptwriting and prompt generation in Claude, to image and video generation in Hedra, to a human editor who cuts the finished ad.
• AI cut Finso's production time from a one-week wait per creative (with human creators) to a finished ad in roughly 3–4 hours — making it practical to run different formats side by side.
• Finso distributes ads across Meta, TikTok, Google native ads, Taboola, and AppLovin.
• Marcel chose Hedra for its model reliability (originally Character-3) and its responsiveness — a reported issue was fixed within 24 hours.

Finso makes ads for e-commerce brands across Meta, TikTok, Google, and beyond. Founded about eight months ago by Marcel Gabel and his co-founder Mario, it grew out of their early AI content work for TikTok Shop with Hedra as their base platform for video generation. We sat down with Marcel to talk about how Finso works, what a modern AI ad pipeline looks like, and why AI is a lever for skilled creatives, not a replacement.

What is Finso, and how is the agency structured?

Sandra: Can you tell me a little about your role and what your team does?

Marcel: I'm Marcel, the founder of Finso. Me and my co-founder Mario founded Finso about eight months ago, out of the AI TikTok Shop content we were doing at the time. Back then, with the brand we worked with, Rosabella, we stumbled upon Hedra. It was really simple, really good, reliable, and the results were speaking for themselves. So we decided to use Hedra as our base platform for video generation.

We really saw the potential in doing AI content back then. You had this feeling, okay, something's coming, let's look more into it. About six months ago that was actually the case, when Google launched Nano Banana Pro, Veo, all these models. This is the perfect time to make AI creatives for e-commerce brands.

The structure is really simple: a raw-material creator makes all the clips and images in Hedra, and a cutter cuts the raw material. Then the finished ad goes directly to the client. As more companies come to us, we'll add more cutters and creators, everything is scaling up.

Where do AI-generated ads perform for e-commerce brands?

Sandra: Are most of your clients e-commerce brands, and where do the ads run?

Marcel: Yeah, basically everybody is an e-commerce client of ours, and we're on basically all the distribution platforms — Meta, TikTok, Taboola, AppLovin. On Google we launch native ads — images and headlines that look like a news feed but are actually an advertorial funnel. That's one case we use Hedra for. But it's strongly the video side for us.

Which AI video models does Finso use in Hedra?

Sandra: Do you have a favorite model in Hedra?

Marcel: I can't say just one — it's two models we depend on because they do the best job: Kling and Veo 3.1.

Why choose Hedra as an AI ad creation platform?

Sandra: How did you first hear about Hedra, and what made you stay?

Marcel: At Rosabella they were heavily into researching all the AI platforms and stumbled across Hedra — it was doing the most reliable job at the time with the Character-3 model. Then Hedra integrated the new models, and we stayed.

But the biggest part of choosing Hedra as our main platform is that you guys are really open to communication and personalized bundles. Most platforms offer the enterprise talk, but once you reach out, nothing comes back. Best example: our manager sent an email saying this and this isn't working — and in 24 hours the thing was fixed. If you'd written that to one of the big AI platforms, nothing would have happened.

How does an AI ad workflow actually work, from research to finished creative?

Sandra: Walk me through your workflow, from concept to finished ad.

Marcel: Breaking it down as simply as possible. First, like every marketer, you go into the research tools — the Meta Ads Library, platforms like PiPiAds and Kalodata. Say the product is a supplement for weak bone tissue. You search the product and many keywords so you have a big set of data points, take the winning elements from the scripts that are working, go into Claude, and adapt them to your product to build a script — with copy understanding, knowing how to say things so people are attracted.

Then you break the script into visual standpoints — "I'm walking into the forest" is a visualization. You put that into Claude, generate the Nano Banana prompts, generate the images, and iterate if a picture isn't perfect. The images go back into Claude so it can get the vibe, the motion, the pain — and generate the prompts for the clips. Everything goes into a Drive folder, the folder goes to the cutter, and the finished ad is there. That's a simple breakdown, but there are so many styles — it's a never-ending story.

We generate the images in Hedra now too, as well as the videos. There were some things making trouble for us with images in the past, but I fixed it together with Max, and now we use Hedra for image generation as well.

Why are supplements a strong niche for AI advertising?

Sandra: Why supplements?

Marcel: Mainly my TikTok Shop experience. In the USA we recognized that supplements are like the new clothing brand of the last ten years, and you have the really nice part of a subscription: you acquire a customer once, the 30 pills are gone, they need the new bottle. But we're open to other industries too — one client trains people who don't have many job opportunities and certifies them for online jobs.

Do AI-generated ads actually convert?

Sandra: Is there an example that produced good results?

Marcel: I can't mention names or straight numbers — we have an NDA — but I can talk retrospectively. One client has a product you put in your ear: like an earplug, but with a membrane that filters only the loud noises while voices still get through. At a festival the music is brutally loud, but you can still hear someone talking to you clearly. We launch creatives for them every week, and with our creatives, the money they spend, they got it back multiple times.

And in the supplement niche there are a lot of older people — if you show this content to people 40-plus, 50-plus, like my parents, they can't see the difference. Once you tell them it's basically a whole AI scene, they're shocked. That's the opportunity.

What AI ad formats work best right now?

Sandra: What formats do you use — talking heads, animations?

Marcel: Various stuff. One client is only talking head with Veo 3.1 — base clips plus B-roll. The TikTok Shop ads mostly have a talking-head character and visual text like "every woman over 35 should know this." We also do a lot of animations — cartoon, VSL explanatory, like the old TV nature documentaries. One style working really well right now: someone experiencing back pain doing some strange thing, a Snapchat-style overlay saying "what the f is this guy doing," then a transition into the explanation. The hook is eye-catching, then you explain.

How is AI changing creative production speed for marketing teams?

Sandra: Where do you see AI video going for marketing teams?

Marcel: For people already crushing it with creative strategy — who have a lot of knowledge in copy and winning elements — it will be a really big lever. A skill done great without AI will be done even better with AI. Back then it was normal for an agency to launch 60 creatives a month, because you had a one-week wait for a real creator. Now you can produce an ad in three to four hours, put it into a workflow and automate it. But I also think AI will be the downfall for people who never had a skill. If you rely entirely on AI, you won't make it if there are difficulties in the future.

What are the current limitations of AI video generation?

Sandra: Any limitations you're running into right now?

Marcel: Clips that come out looking really AI and generic — that will take a long time to fix, because it's all data points. Once AI gains two to four more years of data, it'll be a thousand times more accurate. Until then, as an agency you have to ask yourself: is it right to redo the clip because of a tiny issue, or leave it in because your target audience would never recognize it?

What's next for Finso?

Sandra: What's next for Finso?

Marcel: Our next bigger piece will be for a well-known client in Germany we're signing — those content pieces will be a big moving lever for our reputation.

Sandra: Anything else you want to share?

Marcel: For all the creative strategists, and upcoming creative strategists: always keep in mind that AI will not replace your skill. Always look to develop your own skills and understanding, because without that you're just a slave to AI. Once AI is gone, or regulated, or not freely usable like now — you need your own understanding. A brain trained for ten years will beat one where AI did everything and it can't do anything itself.

Sandra: It was really nice to chat — I think marketers can learn a lot from your workflows. Thank you again.

Marcel: Very cool. Thanks.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to make an AI video ad?

According to Finso, a finished ad takes roughly 3–4 hours once the workflow is established — compared to about a week of waiting time when working with human creators. Much of the pipeline (research, scripting, prompt generation) can be automated, leaving humans to review and iterate.

What tools does an AI creative agency use?

Finso's stack combines ad-research tools (Meta Ads Library, PiPiAds, Kalodata) for finding winning concepts, Claude for scriptwriting and prompt generation, Hedra for image and video generation (using Kling and Veo 3.1), and ElevenLabs for voiceovers, with a human editor assembling the final ad.

Can AI-generated ads perform as well as ads with real creators?

Finso reports that clients earn back their ad spend multiple times over with AI-generated creatives. Older audiences in particular often can't distinguish AI content from filmed content, and skipping creator wait times means far higher creative volume for testing.

What are the main limitations of AI video ads today?

Occasional clips still look generic or visibly AI-generated. Finso's approach is pragmatic: iterate when a flaw would matter to the target audience, and ship when it wouldn't — improvements will come as models train on more data over the next few years.

Will AI replace creative strategists?

Finso's founder argues the opposite: AI amplifies people who already understand copy and winning creative elements, while those with no underlying skill become dependent on it. His advice: "AI will not replace your skill — always look to develop your own understanding."

Want to build creative workflows like Finso's? Explore Hedra.