Most performance marketers obsess over CPMs and targeting while ignoring the biggest budget drain: poor creative. I've managed campaigns from $10K to $300K+ monthly, and the pattern is clear, weak creative doesn't just underperform, it actively burns money. It drives up CPA, accelerates ad fatigue, tanks ROAS, and erodes brand equity. The hidden costs go beyond low CTRs: wasted impressions on burned audiences, missed revenue opportunities, and long-term brand damage that makes future campaigns harder. In this post, I break down the real financial impact of poor creative and share the strategic framework I use to build ads that convert while protecting brand integrity, because you can't afford to choose between performance and creativity. You need both.