Opens with a question
A question makes the viewer answer in their head, so they stay for the reply. It only works if your audience already feels the problem.
3% of launch videos · 10 examples from 10 brands · median 4.9 s
A template to adapt
What if [the task they hate] took [a surprisingly small amount of time]?
How a video lands here: The opening shows on-screen text with a question mark, or a line starting with what, why, how, who or similar.
0:00–0:06Jinko · 344,752 organic views: the motion design video we made for Jinko (YC)A woman in a beige coat holds a phone horizontally to her lips in a sunlit green meadow. A translucent iridescent orb hovers to her left while white captions build word by word on the left as the camera slowly pulls back to a full shot.
0:00–0:06OpenAI · GPT-Live-1.1 has new voices and better accents.Two iPhone mockups stand side by side on a marble stage wall under warm bulbs; a blue orb scales into each screen, then the camera pulls back to reveal four phones in a row.
0:00–0:01EasyDMARC · Motion Graphics Explainer Video for Cybersecurity Platform | EasyDMARCA blue gradient mail app icon with a red “1” badge sits centered on a dark navy field crossed by faint orbital arcs. A small “WHAT YOU SEE” caption hovers at the top. Large white words “Email looks simple” appear on either side of the icon, framing it.
0:00–0:03SimBlox · Introducing SimBlox V2.0!A static centered question reads “WHAT IF LAUNCHING MOBILE CONNECTIVITY...” over a dark blue dotted field.
0:00–0:00Morphic · We Launched Morphic and Got 350K+ Views on XA rounded portrait card of a bearded man in a black zip-up, arms crossed, holds the left side on a black dot-grid background. To the right, the white question reveals word by word from left to right as the card fades in.
0:00–0:04Canva · Create & launch LinkedIn Ads without leaving CanvaA man in a red cap and glasses talks to the camera in a blue-lit room, gesturing, with a microphone in front of him. Purple caption pills cycle his words at the bottom while a Roger / Canva Verified Expert lower-third slides in at chest level.
0:00–0:02Ahrefs · Motion Graphics Promo Video | AhrefsA glowing orange search bar zooms out from a tight close-up to its full rounded shape on a dark blue gradient. A sparkle icon sits at the left as the query types out with a blinking cursor.
0:00–0:02Primer · Primer Bold & Punchy B2B Product LaunchA dark maroon void holds orange circuit lines converging on the left and a white payment card on the right. A 3D orange bottle drops onto the card's top as the form fields fill, then the card slides off the right edge while the headline pulses between white and gray.
0:00–0:01Spotify · Introducing Livi, your personal DJ in SpanishA white rounded tweet card with a blurred avatar and a grayed-out name pill pops into the center of a black field, scaling up and settling. The line of text inside reads the question, then holds still.
0:00–0:01Superhuman · Introducing SuperhumanA near-black frame with a faint rippled texture. The phrase “What would you do” fades in at center in thin white type, scaling up slightly as the words appear. The camera stays locked off.