Bubpedia: Standing rules for Media Buyer + Creatives (Mia, as of 21 Oct 2026)

These rules are to be known and applied every time, without being told. HARD = never broken. Everything else = judgement: understand WHY, and apply it where it fits.

How we think

The goal is to think like Mia and the best ad agency in the world, so she doesn't have to repeat feedback.
Learn the principle behind every note, not just the fix. Apply it across ads with nuance.
Study the best performers (Nexus May ads, Mad Lab and our winners): pacing, cuts, reframing the same shot from wide to closer, hooks, text timing and placement, and the music mix.
For every idea, state which ad it fits, WHY it works and HOW it improves the ad. Then WAIT for Mia's yes before applying anything that wasn't her own correction.
Proactively flag and fix issues, especially voice and expression issues, without being asked.
Noah's rules and Mia's preferences override anything learned from references.
Launch speed matters. Spend and the Shopify Capital offer depend on it. Prioritise launch-ready work first.

Process

[HARD] Mia only sees FINAL, finished, fully self-checked ads. No previews, options or partial versions, unless she asks for A/B choices.
The order is: Creatives self-checks, Media Buyer checks every file, then Mia approves. Only Mia approves.
Check every file before sending: the right VO is present, the approved music is used, the shots match the fix list, and all sizes are there.
Keep a written fix list and tick off every promised fix against the actual frames.
Send the whole batch together, grouped by ad set. No drip-feeding.
Every correction is saved permanently in MIA_CORRECTIONS_LIST.md and in memory.

Wording & claims

[HARD] End cards say "FREE SHIPPING AUSTRALIA-WIDE", never "FREE AU SHIPPING", because AU looks cheap.
Say "clamps", never "clip". No price in the VO. The tray is never "included".
"Loved by 5,000+ families" is OK. "Rated 4.9 stars" needs Mia's OK.

Scripts & VO

[HARD] Name or point to the product before any "it", e.g. "This clamps to the bench."
[HARD] No word is cut off at the start or end (e.g. "Stop", "kitchen"). No clicks or glitches.
[HARD] No slowed, stretched or slow-mo lines. Measure words per second on every line, and keep lines in a list at a matching pace (e.g. "Add the matching tray" on C33 was too slow).
Natural, human delivery with character and expression, driven by the punctuation. Never monotone, never choppy stop-start, no flat endings.
Jokes land with the right tone, e.g. C29's sarcastic "So what? The high chair lives in the shower?" with a rising end.
Scripts read naturally, with no word repeated line after line (e.g. "table" on C34). Read every script aloud for sense before voicing it.
Each VO ad gets its own distinct script. Never copy lines across ads.
Two voices across the account: the Mad Lab "Seven Dinners" voice (cloned, kept as it is) and Mia's clone (refined continuously in the background). Every comment she makes about voice improves her clone.
Never put Mia's VO on Mad Lab ads that have their own voice. Those launch as they are.
Captions don't need to match the VO word for word. Check the pacing with captions on, and show one caption at a time.

Shots & visuals

Every pick starts from the angle, audience and hook. Search the full libraries and vary the picks.
No near-identical shots within one ad. Reusing a shot is OK when it's reframed (wide, then closer) for pacing.
Clamp shots show the seat fully clamped and stable. Never mid-clamp or wobbling, because that reads as flimsy.
Never show a child looking uncomfortable (e.g. pulling on straps).
Pop-ups and AirDrops stay on screen long enough to read. If the pacing is fast, shorten the text.
Inset and AirDrop images must support the angle AND be eye-catching (colour, contrast, interesting angle). When unsure, make an A/B.
Tone-map HDR iPhone clips so skin isn't blown out.
Provide all sizes (9x16, 4x5, 1x1), with nothing stretched and text inside safe zones.

Music & audio

Choose music from research on Bubpedia's brand, niche and vibe, with a reason per track. No electric guitar.
Keep approved music, and never add random new songs. Mad Lab originals keep their own music and levels.
Master to -14 LUFS with a true peak of -1 dBTP or lower. Sit the music 12–18 dB under the VO so every word is clear on a phone at normal volume.

Before anything ships: checklist per ad

Script makes sense; product named before "it"; no repeated words.
Every line's pace is measured; nothing slow-mo; no cut-off words; expressive delivery.
Shots: no near-duplicates, fully clamped, child comfortable, insets on-angle and eye-catching.
Text readable on screen; captions paced.
Music approved and on-brand; loudness at -14 LUFS.
End card says FREE SHIPPING AUSTRALIA-WIDE; all 3 sizes present.

Editing rules (strict)

VO pacing is critical. No long or awkward breaths or pauses between lines. The hook's pre-VO gap is kept short (a breath or music moment is fine but brief). The CTA follows the previous line naturally, ideally starting at the shot change. The CTA VO doesn't need to sync with its caption, and leftover time becomes end music.
When a pause exists so a line matches its shot, keep the match by adjusting the video side (trim, slight optical-flow speed change, moved cut), never by leaving an awkward gap.
Never cut a shot's best moment (key action, smile, clamp or product reveal). Small, safe fixes go ahead. If a fix could only be made by losing a key moment, stop and bring Mia a recommendation first.

Standing rules added 21 Oct

VO cuts keep at least 60 ms of padding and never clip endings (S, T, ch). Never time cuts from Whisper word timestamps.
One version per ad.
No frame-repeat slow-mo; use optical flow.
No single word louder than the rest.
Cut-in shots must look clearly different from their neighbours.
Prefer shots where the chair is clearly clamped on.
Static text: heading at least ~6% of the image height, sub at least ~3.5%, box 75–85% of the width, short and never pulling focus from the art.
9x16 statics fill the space.
When Mia screenshots specific ads, change only those ads.

Final QA gate (strict, 21 Oct 2026). Every rule runs on every file before Ready

Lighting check frame by frame: no blown-out or white flash frames, and no brightness or colour jumps between neighbouring frames. Known bad source frames (e.g. C32A mum leaning over) never come back.
Scroll-stopping hook: the first VO word lands at about 0.2–0.3 s, with no blank or silent lead-in.
VO sound is judged by ear, not only by numbers. No harsh plosives, no thumps or bangs added by fixes, no muffled words.
Mia's choices (takes, version picks, openings) are written into a spec file the moment she says them and sent to Creatives. Finals are checked against that spec.
Caption text and style never change unless Mia asks (e.g. no yellow highlight added).
Labels on the Final Review page change the moment an ad passes or is sent back.