Most ecommerce brands associate Black Friday with loud sale creative. Big banners. Flashing discounts. Urgency clocks. And for good reason! For many brands it’s now an even bigger event than Christmas.

And yes, those ads have their place. But here’s the counterintuitive truth: evergreen ads - the same problem-solving creative that worked in August - often outperform heavy sale ads, even in Q4.

On the surface, that doesn’t make sense. After all, Black Friday is a sale event. But year after year, we see evergreen creative come out ahead in performance data.

Why evergreen wins at cold acquisition

Sale-first creative is generally designed to move people who already know you. Warm audiences see the product, recognize the brand, and a discount nudges them to buy. That’s where sale ads shine: retargeting, loyalty campaigns, abandoned carts.

But cold audiences? They’re not ready to buy yet. A “20% off today only” ad for a product they don’t yet know or understand is unlikely to do much. If someone doesn’t already want your product, a discount isn’t likely to change that.

Evergreen ads pave the way. They lead with the problem the product solves, the lifestyle it improves, and the benefit it unlocks. That’s the message that attracts attention. The sale becomes a bonus, an extra incentive once interest is piqued.

Where sale creative belongs

It doesn’t mean abandoning sale ads altogether. They work well, just not everywhere, all the time.

• Retargeting pools. People who’ve already clicked or browsed but haven’t purchased. They know the brand, they’ve shown intent, and a discount can be the incentive that tips them over the line.

• Email/SMS audiences. Existing subscribers who don’t need to be introduced to the product again. They just need a timely reason to act. A well-placed discount or countdown here can drive reliable conversions.

• Loyalty segments. Past customers who already trust the brand. Often, the right deal or limited-time offer is enough to bring them back for a repeat purchase.

In these scenarios, urgency works. The audience is already familiar with the brand, so a discount or countdown can be enough to push them over the line. For cold prospects, however, urgency alone isn’t enough. Evergreen storytelling almost always outperforms, because it resonates on a personal level. It shows the customer why the product matters to them.

How to adapt evergreen for Q4

The good news is, you don’t need to reinvent your best ads for Black Friday. You just need to make your best-performing evergreen content seasonally relevant without losing the essence of what makes it work.

• Subtle sale overlays. A small “Black Friday Offer” badge or headline strip is often enough. The goal is to signal the promotion without overshadowing the product story that already converts. Heavy-handed sale graphics can distract from what makes the ad compelling in the first place.

• Copy tweaks. Keep the successful core problem/solution framing. Then layer in the discount as reinforcement: “Solve X problem - and right now, do it for 20% less”. This way, the product is still the hero. The promotion is an added incentive.

• Audience splits. Don’t assume one creative works for everyone. Run evergreen and sale-heavy ads side by side. Cold audiences usually engage with storytelling and benefits, while warm audiences - retargeting pools, subscribers, past customers - are more likely to convert with urgency-driven messages and deals.

• Creative continuity. Keep visual elements consistent with what’s been working all year. Someone who has seen your brand before should recognize it instantly in a crowded Q4 feed. Familiarity builds trust, and trust makes the sale message more believable and effective.

The principle is simple: scale what’s already validated, then season it with Q4 urgency.

Our perspective

Sale creative has its place. But the brands that scale cleanly through Q4 are the ones that don’t abandon what’s been working all year.

Evergreen ads still lead the way in generating demand for cold audiences. They tell the story, spark interest, and bring new customers into the fold. They make the product resonate on a personal level, which is what drives new audiences to click in the first place.

That doesn’t mean sale ads aren’t useful. They are, but they have a different role. They work best as the closer, giving people who already know the brand a timely reason to buy.

The mistake is trying to make discounts the lead message everywhere. It overshadows the story that actually drives acquisition.

The smarter move is to rely on evergreen to carry the weight, and use sale creative where it’s strongest: encouraging warm audiences to convert.

Even on Black Friday.