# /reference-ads > Generate ad creatives using the client's OWN existing designs from Google Drive as style references for Krea.ai. # /reference-ads Generate production-ready ad creatives by cloning the visual style of the client's existing designs. Instead of building from templates (like `/static-ad-generator`), this skill browses the client's Google Drive folder, uses vision to pick the best 2-3 existing designs as references, and passes them to Krea.ai so the output matches the actual brand identity — colors, typography, composition, mood. **vs `/static-ad-generator`:** static-ad-generator uses 40 pre-built prompt templates and writes everything from scratch. Good for clients with no design history. reference-ads uses the client's OWN designs as the creative template — good for clients where the design team has already established a visual language. **vs `/krea-create-images`:** krea-create-images requires the user to manually provide a reference URL. reference-ads automates the entire reference discovery flow — browse Drive, evaluate candidates, pick the best, upload as public URLs, build the prompts. **With `/copywrite`:** Pass `--with-copywriter` to delegate copy generation to the copywriter agent (self-test loop, HR/BS/DE/EN). Without the flag, the skill writes copy inline. --- ## Triggers - `/reference-ads "ACME Agency"` — full pipeline with 3 concepts (default) - `/reference-ads "ACME Agency" --concepts 5` — 5 different ad concepts - `/reference-ads "ACME Agency" --refresh` — force fresh reference selection (ignore cache) - `/reference-ads "ACME Agency" --ratio 1:1 --batch 2` — square format, 2 variants per concept - `/reference-ads "ACME Agency" --with-copywriter` — delegate copy to the copywriter agent --- ## Preflight Run ALL checks before any expensive operations. If ANY check fails, abort with the specific failure. 1. **Client exists** in `ACME Agency/clients/clients.json`. Resolve the canonical key (case-insensitive). 2. **`drive_folder_id` is present and reachable.** Test with a `listFiles()` call. If missing or unreachable → abort: "This skill requires a client with designs in Drive. Use `/static-ad-generator` for template-based generation instead." 3. **`CLIENT.md` exists** at `ACME Agency/clients//CLIENT.md`. If missing → warn but continue (reference images provide visual context, and the skill can still work without it). 4. **Krea API key set** in `.env` (`KREA_API_KEY`). If missing → abort. 5. **concepts x batch stays sane**: `concepts * batch <= 16`. If higher → require explicit confirmation. 6. **Slack channel resolves** via `getClientChannel()`. Skip Slack cleanly if bot not invited. 7. **Disk space**: at least 200 MB free in the local client folder. If all checks pass, log: "preflight: OK (, concepts x batch = images, ratio )" --- ## Phase 1 — Reference Discovery & Selection **Goal:** Find the client's best 2-3 existing designs in Drive and prepare them as Krea reference images. ### Step 1.1 — Check cache Look for `ACME Agency/clients//reference_selection.json`. If it exists: - Parse it. Check `selected_at` timestamp. - If same calendar month AND `--refresh` was NOT passed → skip to Step 1.6 (reuse cached references). - If different month OR `--refresh` was passed → continue to Step 1.2 (fresh selection). ### Step 1.2 — Browse Drive folder Use `google_drive.mjs` to recursively discover design images: ```javascript node --input-type=module <<'EOF' import { listFiles, downloadFile } from './ACME Agency/scripts/lib/google_drive.mjs'; import { mkdir } from 'fs/promises'; const FOLDER_ID = ''; const CLIENT = ''; // List top-level contents const topLevel = await listFiles(FOLDER_ID); console.log(`Top-level: ${topLevel.length} items`); // Find design-related subfolders (max depth 2) const DESIGN_NAMES = /social.?media|dizajn|design|kreativ|galerij|gallery|oglas|ads|vizual/i; const designFolders = topLevel.filter(f => f.mimeType.includes('folder') && DESIGN_NAMES.test(f.name) ); // Collect image files from design folders + root let allImages = []; // Root-level images const rootImages = (await listFiles(FOLDER_ID, { mimeType: 'image' })) .filter(f => !f.name.startsWith('.')); allImages.push(...rootImages); // Subfolder images (up to depth 2) for (const folder of designFolders) { const subItems = await listFiles(folder.id); // Direct images in this folder const images = subItems.filter(f => f.mimeType.startsWith('image/')); allImages.push(...images); // Go one level deeper (e.g. Social media design/Croatia/2026/) const subFolders = subItems.filter(f => f.mimeType.includes('folder')); for (const sf of subFolders.slice(0, 5)) { const deepImages = await listFiles(sf.id, { mimeType: 'image' }); allImages.push(...deepImages.slice(0, 10)); } } // Deduplicate by ID, sort by modifiedTime desc const seen = new Set(); allImages = allImages.filter(f => { if (seen.has(f.id)) return false; seen.add(f.id); return true; }).sort((a, b) => new Date(b.modifiedTime) - new Date(a.modifiedTime)); // Filter to last 60 days const cutoff = Date.now() - 60 * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000; const recent = allImages.filter(f => new Date(f.modifiedTime).getTime() > cutoff); console.log(`Found ${recent.length} images from the last 60 days`); // Take top 10 candidates const candidates = recent.slice(0, 10); // Download to ref-candidates/ await mkdir(`ACME Agency/clients/${CLIENT}/ref-candidates`, { recursive: true }); for (const img of candidates) { const ext = img.name.split('.').pop() || 'png'; const dest = `ACME Agency/clients/${CLIENT}/ref-candidates/${img.id}.${ext}`; await downloadFile(img.id, dest); console.log(`Downloaded: ${img.name} (${img.modifiedTime})`); } EOF ``` **If zero images found:** Abort with: "No recent designs found in 's Drive folder (last 60 days). Use `/static-ad-generator` for template-based generation instead." **If fewer than 3 images found:** Continue with what's available — even 1 reference is better than none. ### Step 1.3 — Vision evaluation Read each downloaded candidate image with Claude vision. For each, evaluate on a 1-10 scale: | Criterion | What to look for | |-----------|------------------| | **Production quality** | Professional finish, not a rough draft, screenshot, or meme. Clean edges, proper resolution. | | **Brand consistency** | Uses consistent colors, typography, logo placement. Looks like it belongs to the same brand. | | **Composition** | Well-structured for an ad format. Clear visual hierarchy, not cluttered. | | **Style clarity** | Has a clear, replicable visual style that Krea can clone. Not a generic stock photo. | | **Brief relevance** | (Only if campaign brief provided) Relates to the product/service/concept being advertised. | **Scoring:** - Score each criterion 1-10 - Compute average - Rank all candidates by average score - **Penalize heavily:** images with lots of overlaid text (Krea will try to clone the text layout, which breaks), screenshots of other platforms, low-resolution images, images that are clearly logos/icons (not full ad designs) ### Step 1.4 — Select top references Pick the top 2-3 images. Log the selection with reasoning: ``` Reference selection for : 1. (modified ) — score 9.2 — clean layout, strong brand colors, professional product shot 2. (modified ) — score 8.8 — good typography, relevant to campaign brief 3. (modified ) — score 8.5 — consistent brand style, good composition ``` ### Step 1.5 — Upload as public URLs For each selected reference, upload to Drive with public access: ```javascript node --input-type=module <<'EOF' import { uploadPublic } from './ACME Agency/scripts/lib/google_drive.mjs'; import { readFile, writeFile } from 'fs/promises'; const CLIENT = ''; const FOLDER_ID = ''; const refs = [ { local: 'ACME Agency/clients//ref-candidates/.png', tag: 'ref-style-1' }, { local: 'ACME Agency/clients//ref-candidates/.png', tag: 'ref-style-2' }, { local: 'ACME Agency/clients//ref-candidates/.png', tag: 'ref-style-3' }, ]; const urls = {}; for (const r of refs) { const url = await uploadPublic(r.local, FOLDER_ID, `${r.tag}.png`); urls[r.tag] = url; console.log(`${r.tag}: ${url}`); } // Update clients.json reference_assets const registryPath = 'ACME Agency/clients/clients.json'; const registry = JSON.parse(await readFile(registryPath, 'utf8')); const clientKey = Object.keys(registry.clients).find(k => k.toLowerCase() === CLIENT.toLowerCase()); if (!registry.clients[clientKey].reference_assets) registry.clients[clientKey].reference_assets = {}; Object.assign(registry.clients[clientKey].reference_assets, urls); await writeFile(registryPath, JSON.stringify(registry, null, 2)); console.log('Updated clients.json reference_assets'); EOF ``` ### Step 1.6 — Cache selection Save `ACME Agency/clients//reference_selection.json`: ```json { "selected_at": "2026-04-13T10:30:00Z", "client": "ClientName", "method": "vision-scored", "references": [ { "drive_file_id": "...", "name": "original-filename.png", "score": 9.2, "score_breakdown": { "quality": 9, "brand": 10, "composition": 9, "style": 9, "relevance": 9 }, "public_url": "https://drive.google.com/uc?id=...", "local_path": "ACME Agency/clients//ref-candidates/.png", "tag": "ref-style-1" } ] } ``` --- ## Phase 2 — Prompt + Copy Construction **Goal:** Build Krea prompts that describe each ad concept while instructing Krea to clone the reference style. Write the ad copy for each concept. ### Step 2.1 — Deep reference analysis Read the selected reference images again with vision and extract a detailed style profile: - **Color palette:** Dominant colors, accent colors, background treatment (gradient/solid/textured) - **Typography style:** Weight (bold/light), case (uppercase/mixed), placement (top/center/bottom), approximate size relative to image - **Layout pattern:** Where's the product/hero shot? Where's the text? How much whitespace? - **Mood:** Professional/warm/energetic/minimal/luxurious/clinical - **Brand elements:** Logo placement and size, any recurring visual motifs Compile this into a **style brief** — a 3-5 sentence summary that can be prepended to every Krea prompt. Example: > "Deep purple gradient background with gold accent text. Bold white uppercase headlines at top, product mockup centered. Clean professional composition with ample breathing room. Logo bottom-right, small. Mood: confident, premium but approachable." ### Step 2.2 — Build concepts For each concept (default 3, configurable via `--concepts`): 1. **Define the concept angle** based on the campaign brief: - What product/service/offer is being advertised? - What's the unique angle for this specific concept? (testimonial, direct pitch, problem-solution, stat/authority, lifestyle, event/deadline) - What should the image SHOW? (product, person, environment, abstract) 2. **Write the ad copy** for this concept: - **Headline** for the image overlay (max 8 words, punchy, benefit-driven) - **Accent word** (1-2 words in a contrasting color for emphasis, usually the key benefit) - **CTA text** (button or bottom text: "Saznajte vise", "Kontaktirajte nas", etc.) - **Primary text** (the text that goes below the image in Meta — 2-3 paragraphs, conversational, follows Croatian/Bosnian copywriting rules from CLAUDE.md) - **Description** (one-liner for Meta link description field) If `--with-copywriter` was passed, delegate to the copywriter agent (Task tool, subagent_type: "copywriter") with the concept details and CLIENT.md context. 3. **Build the Krea prompt** by combining: - The style brief from Step 2.1 (prepended to every prompt) - The concept description (what should be in the image) - Image overlay text placement instructions (from the copy) - CLIENT.md brand details if available (exact hex colors, logo description) - Client market cue ("Croatian market", "Bosnian market", "German market") **Prompt structure:** ``` [STYLE BRIEF from Step 2.1] Modern [aspect_ratio] advertisement for [client business description]. [Concept description: what's in the image, the scene, the subject, the mood]. Text overlay: bold [uppercase/mixed] headline at [position] reading "[HEADLINE TEXT]" with the word "[ACCENT WORD]" in [accent color]. [CTA placement]: "[CTA TEXT]" in [style]. Logo [position], [size]. Style: match the visual style, color palette, typography weight, and composition of the reference images. Clean, professional, high-quality advertising creative. ``` ### Step 2.3 — Save prompts JSON Save to `ACME Agency/clients//static_ads_prompts.json` in the standard format that `static_ads_generate.mjs` reads: ```json { "client": "ClientName", "generated_at": "2026-04-13T10:45:00Z", "brand_dna_version": "reference-ads", "input_mode": "reference", "campaign": "Campaign description from brief", "prompts": [ { "template_number": 1, "template_name": "direct-pitch", "prompt": "Deep purple gradient background matching reference style...", "aspect_ratio": "4:5", "reference_tags": ["ref-style-1", "ref-style-2", "ref-style-3"], "notes": "Copy: Headline='BRENDIRANJE ZA VAS PORTAL', CTA='POSALJITE UPIT'" }, { "template_number": 2, "template_name": "testimonial", "prompt": "...", "aspect_ratio": "4:5", "reference_tags": ["ref-style-1", "ref-style-2", "ref-style-3"], "notes": "..." } ] } ``` **Key:** Every prompt uses the SAME `reference_tags` — all point to the selected reference designs. This is what makes every generated image match the client's existing style. Show the user a summary table before Phase 3: ``` Concepts for : | # | Name | Headline | Ratio | Refs | |---|----------------|-------------------------------|-------|------| | 1 | direct-pitch | BRENDIRANJE ZA VAS PORTAL | 4:5 | 3 | | 2 | testimonial | ZADOVOLJNI KLIJENTI | 4:5 | 3 | | 3 | problem-solve | ZASTO NAM VJERUJU | 4:5 | 3 | Total: 3 images (3 concepts x 1 batch). Ready to generate? ``` --- ## Phase 3 — Generation **Goal:** Run batch generation via the existing pipeline. ### Step 3.1 — Verify reference_assets Before generating, confirm `clients.json > reference_assets` has all the `ref-style-*` keys that the prompts reference: ```javascript node --input-type=module <<'EOF' import { readFile } from 'fs/promises'; const reg = JSON.parse(await readFile('ACME Agency/clients/clients.json', 'utf8')); const client = reg.clients['']; const assets = client.reference_assets || {}; for (const tag of ['ref-style-1', 'ref-style-2', 'ref-style-3']) { console.log(`${tag}: ${assets[tag] || 'MISSING'}`); } EOF ``` If any are missing → abort. Something went wrong in Phase 1. ### Step 3.2 — Run static_ads_generate.mjs ```bash node ACME Agency/scripts/static_ads_generate.mjs "" --batch ``` The script: 1. Reads `static_ads_prompts.json` 2. For each prompt, maps `reference_tags` to `reference_assets` URLs 3. **Auto-prepends the client logo** (via `ensureClientLogo()`) as the first reference and augments the prompt with a "logo is canonical" instruction. The logo is added on top of your selected `ref-style-*` references, not in place of them. 4. Calls `generateAndDownload()` with the reference URLs as `imageUrls` 5. Uploads all generated images to Drive (nested folder structure) 6. Posts ONE consolidated Slack report 7. Saves manifest to `static_ads_manifest.json` **Do NOT call `krea_create_images.mjs` in a loop.** The whole point of this skill is to use the batch pipeline for consolidated output. --- ## Phase 4 — Delivery & Verification ### Step 4.1 — Verify output Check: - [ ] Total images generated = concepts x batch (no silent skips) - [ ] Every local file exists and is > 10KB - [ ] Drive URLs match local count - [ ] `static_ads_manifest.json` has a new entry with today's timestamp - [ ] Reference images were actually passed to Krea (check manifest for `imageUrls` or look at script logs) - [ ] Slack report was posted successfully (if `--no-slack` was not passed) ### Step 4.2 — Post copy to Slack thread If ad copy was generated in Phase 2, post it as a threaded reply to the Slack report: ``` *Ad Copy — — * *Concept 1: direct-pitch* Headline: BRENDIRANJE ZA VAS PORTAL Primary text: [full primary text] CTA: POSALJITE UPIT *Concept 2: testimonial* ... ``` --- ## Phase 5 — Iteration If the user wants changes: - **Different references:** Run with `--refresh` to re-browse Drive and pick new references - **More/fewer concepts:** Run with `--concepts N` - **Different copy:** Edit `static_ads_prompts.json` directly, then re-run Phase 3 only with `node ACME Agency/scripts/static_ads_generate.mjs "" --batch 1` - **Different ratio:** Run with `--ratio 1:1` (or `9:16`, `16:9`) - **Higher quality:** Run with `--resolution 4K` and `--batch 2` for more variants --- ## Key Files | File | Purpose | |------|---------| | `ACME Agency/clients/clients.json` | Client registry — `drive_folder_id`, `reference_assets`, `slack_channel` | | `ACME Agency/clients//CLIENT.md` | Brand context (optional but improves quality) | | `ACME Agency/clients//reference_selection.json` | Cached reference selection (vision scores, URLs) | | `ACME Agency/clients//static_ads_prompts.json` | Prompts JSON consumed by `static_ads_generate.mjs` | | `ACME Agency/clients//static_ads_manifest.json` | Generation manifest (written by `static_ads_generate.mjs`) | | `ACME Agency/clients//ref-candidates/` | Downloaded reference candidate images | | `ACME Agency/scripts/static_ads_generate.mjs` | Batch generation engine (Phase 3) | | `ACME Agency/scripts/lib/google_drive.mjs` | `listFiles`, `downloadFile`, `uploadPublic`, `findOrCreateFolder` | | `ACME Agency/scripts/lib/krea.mjs` | `generateAndDownload` (via static_ads_generate.mjs) | | `ACME Agency/scripts/lib/slack.mjs` | `getClientChannel`, `postMessage` | --- ## Tips for Better Output 1. **Fewer text overlays = better results.** Krea is bad at rendering non-Latin text (Croatian diacritics). Keep overlay text minimal (1 headline + 1 CTA) and plan to add text in post-production if needed. 2. **Reference quality matters more than quantity.** 2 excellent references beat 5 mediocre ones. Prefer clean, professional designs over busy social media posts. 3. **Same ratio as references.** If the reference designs are 1:1 squares, generate 1:1. Krea clones composition better when the aspect ratio matches. 4. **Run with `--batch 2`** on first attempts — gives you 2 variants per concept so you can pick the better one. 5. **The style brief is critical.** Spend time on Step 2.1 — a precise style description (exact colors, exact typography weight, exact layout) produces dramatically better Krea output than a vague "match the style."