Every long-running ad epocrates runs on Facebook & Instagram — pulled from the public Meta Ad Library, x-rayed by the same system that runs ad accounts autonomously.
Active ads
65
Winning set
23
30+ days live
Longest live
316d
App rating
4.43★
7.1K ratings
Brand palette
The short version
Key facts
- As of September 14, 2026, epocrates runs 65 active ads in Meta's Ad Library across Facebook and Instagram; 23 of them have survived 30 or more days of continuous delivery.
- Its longest-running ad has been live for 316 days.
- The winning set splits 26% static, 74% carousel.
- The most common message angle is hype discovery hook, carried by 52% of the winning set.
- All winning copy runs in English.
- In App Store reviews, the loudest praise goes to Long term loyalty (10% of mentions) and the loudest complaint is Paywall shift (30%).
- The App Store listing holds 4.43 stars across 7,144 ratings.
The winning set
Live Meta ads gallery
23 ads have survived 30+ days of continuous delivery, out of 65 currently active. Below: 20 creatives picked to span every angle and buyer the account runs; the ×N badge counts the ads running each one. Tap any card for its Meta Ad Library record. Sorted by longest live: the account's most proven creatives lead, podium first.
316d dco EN
Close-up shot of a laser tattoo removal procedure in progress.
257d dco ×2 ads EN
A close-up, high-contrast product shot of a medical vial and syringe.
160d image ×2 ads EN
A close-up, high-contrast product shot of a medical vial and syringe.
158d image EN
Close-up shot of a laser tattoo removal procedure in progress.
155d dco ×2 ads EN
A collection of five different alcoholic beverages arranged on a bar surface.
155d dco EN
A close-up shot of a person preparing to inject medication into their abdomen.
154d image EN
A close-up shot of a person preparing to inject medication into their abdomen.
104d dco EN
Close-up shot of a medical professional administering an injection to an elderly patient's arm.
103d image EN
Close-up shot of a medical professional administering an injection to an elderly patient's arm.
99d dco EN
A high-contrast, appetizing display of various junk foods including a burger, fries, soda, and sweets.
99d dco EN
Two women performing a yoga pose against a clear blue sky.
99d dco EN
Visual representation of a human profile with a glowing, digital brain overlay.
94d dco EN
A young child sleeping peacefully in bed with a teddy bear.
88d dco EN
A medical professional interacting with a holographic human body interface.
80d image EN
A collection of five different alcoholic beverages arranged on a bar surface.
70d dco EN
70d dco EN
70d dco EN
31d dco EN
31d dco EN
The x-ray — every winner analyzed frame by frame
What the winning set is actually doing
Language distribution — where the winning set actually runs
Share of the winning set per copy language. Translation is a deliberate spend decision: a language earning survivors is a market the money already believes in.
English
100% · 23 ads
Format split — statics vs video in the winning set
What survives 30+ days by medium.
static 6 ads · 26%
carousel 17 ads · 74%
Angle mix — what the money says works
Every winner tagged with the message angle it leads with, and the languages it runs in — longevity under spend is the only public vote that counts.
hype discovery hook
52% · 12 ads
unclassified
48% · 11 ads
The winning set, read from the creatives themselves — the top 15 analyzed winners, hook by hook.
| Days live | Ads | Lang | Angle | Persona | On-screen headline | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 316d | ×4 | en | hype discovery hook | clinician_healthcare_worker | DCO | |
| 257d | ×2 | en | — | — | DCO | |
| 160d | ×2 | en | — | — | Static | |
| 158d | ×5 | en | hype discovery hook | clinician_healthcare_worker | Static | |
| 155d | ×2 | en | — | — | DCO | |
| 155d | ×2 | en | — | — | DCO | |
| 154d | ×2 | en | — | — | Static | |
| 104d | ×2 | en | hype discovery hook | clinician_healthcare_worker | DCO | |
| 103d | ×1 | en | hype discovery hook | clinician_healthcare_worker | Static | |
| 99d | ×2 | en | hype discovery hook | clinician_healthcare_worker | DCO | |
| 99d | ×2 | en | hype discovery hook | clinician_healthcare_worker | DCO | |
| 99d | ×2 | en | hype discovery hook | clinician_healthcare_worker | DCO | |
| 94d | ×2 | en | hype discovery hook | clinician_healthcare_worker | DCO | |
| 88d | ×1 | en | hype discovery hook | clinician_healthcare_worker | DCO | |
| 80d | ×4 | en | — | — | Static |
+5 more winners, hook by hook, with per-ad angle and persona calls — free with a Google account. Browse the full set ↗ or claim the workspace
Creative strategy
The dissection
epocrates' longest-running ad now hits 273 days, a laser tattoo removal close-up tied to a melanoma-risk study, not a pill shot. The volume leader stays discount offers: 9 of 31 winners still run 'Go beyond the basics,' no humans, just app footage and a 'Save 50%' overlay. This week added 1 winner, retired 1.
50% Off, Zero Humans, App Footage
The proven formula: dco format, no on-camera talent, product and app-screen footage only, with text reading 'Save 50%' holding for 142 then 170 days straight. It powers 9 of 31 winners (29%), all 9 creatives dco, matching the 81% dco skew across the 25-creative sample. Copy stays fixed: 'Go beyond the basics with epocrates+. Premium, evidence based clinical guidance to support confident care decisions.'
Instant-Access Script Runs Six Times
A second unchanged script, 'Subscribe for instant access to trusted clinical tools and up-to-date drug info,' backs the platform authority claim angle: 6 ads, all dco, no people, same product/app-footage build as the discount ads. It feeds the Tech-Forward Clinical Innovator persona, 8 ads deep, epocrates' second-largest audience bucket after the 9-ad Free-Tier Clinician Ready to Upgrade group.
Paywall Gripes Outpace the Pitch
Ads promise 'instant access to trusted clinical tools' and 50% off premium, but paywall shift is the loudest voice theme across 505 reviews at 95 mentions, and app freezing/crashing adds 70 more. Reviewers also flag that 'even paid subscribers still see ads and pop-ups,' undercutting the premium pitch, while the listing holds a lifetime 4.44 stars.
273 Days on a Tattoo-Removal Clip
The single longest-surviving creative in the set now runs 273 days, a close-up of laser tattoo removal tied to a 2-ad melanoma-risk study angle. Alongside it, 3 ads dramatize a botulinum self-injection hospitalization story and 2 more track a 13-year alcohol-intake study, feeding the Lifestyle-Risk Counseling Clinician (6 ads) and Vaccine and Prevention-Focused Clinician (3 ads) personas.
GLP-1 Persona Still Just Two Ads
GLP-1 and Weight-Loss Drug Manager remains the thinnest persona at just 2 ads, dwarfed by 9 for Free-Tier Clinician Ready to Upgrade and 8 for Tech-Forward Clinical Innovator. All 31 winners run English-only despite 75 total active ads in the library, and this week's churn (+1 new winner, 1 retired since 2026-07-27) shows the set still turning over without closing either gap.
What we'd test next
- A dco ad reusing the proven 'Save 50%' discount-offer hook over product/app footage, re-angled to the GLP-1 and Weight-Loss Drug Manager persona (just 2 ads today) instead of the generic clinician upgrade pitch.
- A dco ad pairing the same 'Save 50%' discount-offer hook with a dosing-precision angle (vial-and-syringe close-up hooks at 215 and 117 days) aimed at the Bedside Prescriber Needing Instant Dosing Info persona, still only 3 ads deep.
- An image ad introducing a social-proof rating hook (the 4.44-star lifetime score across 505 reviews) over app screenshots, a mechanic this set hasn't run, framed as platform authority for the Tech-Forward Clinical Innovator persona (8 ads).
- A Spanish-language dco ad running the unchanged 'Subscribe for instant access to trusted clinical tools' platform-authority script against the Free-Tier Clinician Ready to Upgrade persona, since all 31 winners currently run English-only despite 75 active ads.
The HyperScale batch
New ad concepts, generated for epocrates
HyperScale agents are producing an original round of ad concepts for epocrates, built from the winning angles above, the brand's real App Store assets, and what reviewers actually say. This page updates when the batch drops.
This analysis lives in a ready-made HyperScale workspace. If you work on epocrates, it's yours: we hand it over personally, usually within a day.
Customer voice — 502 recent reviews analyzed
What reviewers actually say
Objections the ads must pre-empt
- Free version now limits drug searches to a handful per week, breaking point-of-care workflow
- Subscription pricing ($15-25/month or ~$180/year) seen as sudden and excessive after years of free use
- App crashes or freezes on launch/sync, sometimes right after updates
- Older iOS devices/iPhones lose access entirely after update requirements
- Even paying subscribers still see ads and pop-ups
Review-theme mix
Share of analyzed review mentions per theme — ＋ praise, − complaint, ~ mixed. Themes, not individual reviews.
− Paywall shift
30% · 95
− App freezing/crashing
22% · 70
− Feature restrictions/limits
13% · 41
+ Long-term loyalty
10% · 30
− Ads and clutter
8% · 24
− iOS/device compatibility
7% · 23
+ Clinical reference value
6% · 19
− Competitor switching
3% · 10
“Great resource- it is my go to. It is organized clearly and concisely. Quickly tells you what you need to know. I have used it now for over 14 years.”
“I have used this as my go-to drug reference since the late 1990s when I had it in a palm pilot!”
“I no longer carry the pocket pharmacopoeia around with me like I did for 2 decades. Replaced by this app long ago.”
“The pill identifier saved three lives over a 10 year period”
“I saved my friend's life 3 times when I found out medications contraindicated with other medications”
“I ve been using Epocrates for 10 years, dosing, disease overview at my fingertips Quick and easy resource”
“I have been in active practice for 40 years and have used this app when it was first introduced”
“Great for finding drug interactions when the EMR doesn't!”
“I always liked your concise, authoritative information, giving the essentials needed for safe, accurate prescribing”
“Not free anymore. Stopped using after 20 years.”
“I've been using this app for 12+ years. It used to be awesome but now it's awful.”
“After nearly 20 years of heavily relying on epocrates, I am extremely disappointed it is now requiring a subscription”
“Now its 24.99 a month clearly a scam of a price”
“They just introduced a pay wall and now if you look up more than 2 things per day, a pay wall comes requiring $14.99 per month or $179 per year for access.”
“I only looked up a few medications (maybe like 4) and get the pop up that I "reached my free amount of look ups for the week." For the week? It's literally the first day of the week.”
“LIMITING PHYSICIAN ACCESS TO VITAL DRUG INFO ACTIVELY HARMS PATIENTS”
“This directly impacted my patient care, as I used the app multiple times per day to correctly calculate dosages and drug interactions”
“Tonight on shift when I had an unstable hemophiliac that was bleeding the app wouldn't let me proceed without purchasing the app”
“Crashes and closes every time. Can no longer use the app.”
“I use this app every day in my clinic to double-check doses and other reasons. Since updating today, the app consistently crashes as soon as it loads.”
“completely frozen after sept 2020 update”
“App is currently BROKEN. Download it and it works fine. Within 24hr, reopening the app and it responds to zero touch (potentially frozen).”
“Used this App for 20 years and never had an issue regarding Apple iOS and app compatibility- but the recent update will not allow the app to work”
“I am now unable to access it because it says I need IOS 17”
“Despite paying $180 for a yearly membership, every time I open this app I'm forced to watch a drug commercial first”
“I have never before encountered an app with such frequent annoying advertisements pushed through notifications”
“I preferred this app to UpToDate but since my company provides access to UpToDate, I'll be deleting this one”
“Canceling and going with Up to Date”
The market around it
Brands competing for the same feed
Keep exploring the radar
More Meta ads teardowns
Also winning with the hype discovery hook angle
Quick answers
FAQ
How many ads is epocrates running and how many are winners?
epocrates has 75 active ads in Meta's Ad Library, with 31 surviving 30+ days to qualify as winners; this week added 1 new winner and retired 1 since 2026-07-27.
What languages and angles dominate epocrates' Meta ads?
All 31 winning ads run in English, with discount offer (9 ads) the top angle, platform authority claim and lifestyle risk callout tied at 6 ads each, then dosing precision and vaccine reassurance at 3 ads apiece.
What creative pattern is actually working?
The winning formula is dco format, no on-camera talent, plain product/app footage, and a 'Save 50%' overlay holding for 142 and 170 days on two creatives; 81% of the 25 x-rayed creatives share this no-people, dco build.
What do reviewers say versus what the ads claim?
Across 505 reviews (4.44★ lifetime), paywall shift draws 95 mentions and app freezing/crashing 70, directly undercutting ad claims of 'instant access to trusted clinical tools' and a premium, ad-light experience.