We scored NileRed thumbnails, then tried to beat them
NileRed packages one lab result plus a short label. We scored two long-form thumbs through Thumbly Score, applied the fixes, and re-scored. Making purple gold went 71 to 79. Making nasty soap went 73 to 76.
4 min read ThumbnailsYouTubeTeardownCreator BreakdownPsychologyNileRed puts one lab result in the frame and lets you look at it. The two thumbs we scored are a purple gold bar and a brown block of soap. A short label names the joke.
That is NileRed packaging. The channel is chemistry on a bench. These two keep the object and skip the face.
We took two of his long-form thumbs, Making purple gold and Making nasty soap, and ran them through [Thumbly Score](/thumbly-score). Same flow as the [Stuff Made Here](/blog/stuff-made-here-thumbnail-teardown) and [Veritasium](/blog/veritasium-thumbnail-teardown) teardowns. Score the original, apply the fix, score again.
[Stuff Made Here](/blog/stuff-made-here-thumbnail-teardown) is the cousin workshop lane, with a machine instead of a beaker. [Mark Rober](/blog/mark-rober-thumbnail-teardown) is the bigger spectacle cousin. NileRed stays with the thing he made, sitting in a hand, named in a few words.
Thumbnail 1: "Making purple gold"
Fingers pinch a small purple metal bar against a white background. The bar is shaped like a gold ingot, with a mirror shine on every edge. Black text on the left reads REAL GOLD, stacked on two lines, with a small red arrow pointing at the bar. No face.
**Thumbly Score: 71/100**
| Dimension | Score |
|---|---|
| Virality | 70 |
| Clarity | 85 |
| Idea | 60 |
| Curiosity | 80 |
| Emotion | 55 |
Curiosity at 80 comes from the contradiction. Purple gold that claims to be real gold is a hook by itself.
Clarity at 85 is the strength. You know the object in one look.
Emotion at 55 is the weak spot. The white field is clean, and the bar sits there like a catalog shot. Idea at 60 says the frame is simple, not loud.
Thumbly darkened the field, put a yellow glow on the REAL GOLD type, and put a hard highlight on the bar. This is what came back:
*Thumbly's edit, not NileRed's published thumbnail.*
**79/100, up eight.** Emotion jumped from 55 to 75. Virality rose from 70 to 80, idea from 60 to 70, and curiosity from 80 to 85. Clarity held at 85.
The black field and the yellow glow around the type do the work. The bar was already readable. A hotter shine and louder words made the purple harder to ignore.
At 71 the picture already sold the claim. Lighting and type made the claim louder.
Thumbnail 2: "Making nasty soap"
A hand holds a lumpy brown rectangle on white. Darkened, zoomed copies of the same bar fill the left and right sides. Black text above the bar reads SKATOLE, with a small red arrow pointing down at it. No face.
**Thumbly Score: 73/100**
The gag is immediate. The bar looks like a chocolate bar, and the label makes it worse.
The object is already clear. The side panels take space. The light is flat, so the dents in the soap are hard to see.
Thumbly wanted raking light, a tighter crop, and a stronger SKATOLE label. This is what came back:
*Thumbly's edit, not NileRed's published thumbnail.*
**76/100, up three.** The crop got tighter. The light rakes across the pitted surface, and SKATOLE is big and red. The side panels are gone, and more of the hand is in the shot.
The texture and the label got louder. The joke was already doing the work. The total barely moved.
At 73 the picture already sold the nasty bar. Tightening the crop helped the eye more than the score.
What to steal from NileRed
NileRed's move is simple. Put the result in a hand. Name it in a few words.
Purple gold moved eight points when the bar got shine and the type got loud. Soap moved three when we cropped in, because the nasty joke was already on the table.
If you shoot chemistry or lab work, steal the restraint. One object, a short label, and no glitterbomb build unless that is actually your channel.
Soft close
Want the same Score loop on your own thumbs? Run them through [Thumbly Score](/thumbly-score), try the fix, and re-score. Sometimes the fix wins big and sometimes it's a wash, and it's good to know which before you publish. Generate or export in [Thumbly Studio](/) when you're ready to ship.
This piece is commentary on public packaging. We are reading the picture, not claiming NileRed's CTR.
