DTC Podcast Ep 535: Ashvin Melwani On How Obvi Fixed Meta Pixel Poisoning and Recovered Ad Performance

Date: August 18, 2025
Host: DTC Newsletter and Podcast
Guest: Ashvin Melwani, Co-Founder of Obvi
Theme: Overcoming Meta Pixel Poisoning, Ad Account Recovery, TikTok Shop Insights, and Scaling Retail

Episode Overview

In this episode, the DTC Podcast welcomes back Ashvin Melwani, co-founder of Obvi, to share how Obvi tackled Meta’s “pixel poisoning” health and wellness flags, rebuilt their ad performance, and expanded into TikTok Shop and retail. Ash offers detailed lessons from the trenches: detecting algorithmic issues, tactical fixes for pixel data, responding to industry-wide volatility, and evolving growth strategies across platforms.

Key Discussion Points

1. State of the Market & Setting the Scene ([00:00-02:55])

• Ash emphasizes his deep experience: "I've tested thousands of ads. We've done iterations of our landing pages. I know what works and I know what doesn't work and I know when something is off with my ad account." ([00:00])
• Massive shift: 50% of people "are making their first search on TikTok" now, not Google.
• The reality for many DTC brands: “The name of the game for 2025 is Just Survive and hope for the best.” ([00:50])
• Obvi’s growth: Best year ever last year (100% YoY), but hit hard in December/January by Meta's Andromeda update and increased health & wellness scrutiny.
• Meta is acting pre-emptively to cover HIPAA liability, blanketing many health brands in restrictive policies, leading to account deprioritization.

2. Diagnosing & Fixing the Meta Pixel Crisis ([02:55-08:14]; [08:14-13:30])

• Random, overnight declines: These are signals your ad account is algorithmically penalized, not a creative/landing page issue.
• In Obvi’s experience: On Jan 1, their ad account was restricted and flagged as health & wellness—despite not being a pharmacy.
• Ash: “Once you're flagged, you're getting deprioritized in the auction. And that's what ended up happening with us.” ([02:55])
• Ad account health measures included:
  • Trying new ad accounts, pixels, domains—little effect.
  • The real fix: Purifying pixel data and integration.
  • Transitioned from Shopify’s default pixel connector to Upstack, a partner who helped “only send the stuff [Meta] can actually help performance” and scrub problematic data.
  • “Fixing the pixel, health and data was very, very important.” ([04:19])
• Bundling top sellers increased AOV from $65 to $100, offsetting rising CAC.
• TikTok’s emerging dominance: “If your brand's not on there…I don't care what your demographic is, like, everybody is on there now.” ([06:33])
• Fluidity across platforms and DTC vs. Retail: “This is the year of...building away from this over-reliance on Meta.”

Notable Quote

"You don't just see this, like, sharp decline overnight for no reason."
— Ashvin Melwani ([03:35])

3. Details of the Meta Pixel Poisoning & Recovery ([08:14-13:58])

• Ash explains that flags are often invisible ("not a direct flag, it's an indirect flag")—even random domains (like a Florida funeral home) associated with your pixel can penalize your account.
• Pro-tip: Track landing page views divided by total outbound clicks. A steep drop signals algorithm issues. (“The day we got flagged, our ratio went from 85, 90 down to 55.” [10:24])
• Fix involved integrating Upstack, which cleaned the data sent to Meta.
  • “Seven days after, our ratio started to go back up...CPMs come down, our cost of traffic comes down, our CPA start to come down…” ([11:53])
• Algorithms now act much faster—issues can kill performance nearly instantly.
  • “With Andromeda's update the system is way more faster to pick up on irregularities…you will start to get deprioritized right away.” ([12:54])

Notable Quote

"If there's something that's broken, you will start to get deprioritized right away."
— Ashvin Melwani ([13:04])

4. Account Structure & Creative Testing Post-Reset ([13:58-21:38])

• Meta’s Andromeda algorithm now prizes creative diversity over numerous variations of a single concept.
• New approach:
  • Move from over-exclusion (e.g., only excluding customers, not website visitors).
  • Instead of testing 50 ads a week (10 angles, 3-5 variations each), now test 10–15 highly distinct ads per batch within fewer ad sets.
  • More focus on consolidated campaigns, reducing self-competition.
  • Embrace automatic bidding for initial spend, with manual bids as a backup.
• For creative: “Way more higher contrast… static ads, video ads…us vs. them, reviews, offers, podcast style ads, interviews.”
• CRO testing: Simple above-the-fold landing page copy changes (e.g. matching ad copy) led to 30% lift.
• Continuous weekly website tests (copy, imagery, CTA) stack to create compound improvement.

Notable Quote

“I just ran a test last week. I changed the above the fold copy...30% lift right there.”
— Ashvin Melwani ([21:17])

5. Proxima AI Audiences & Algorithm Retraining ([21:38-23:50])

• Proxima (audience builder) used to retrain Meta’s algorithm after the account’s audience became too narrowly focused (from a single influencer).
• Now used as a seed audience for Meta’s “ASC” campaigns, which allow advertisers to provide input for smarter audience exploration.

6. The Ongoing Role of Media Buyers Amidst Automation ([23:50-27:14])

• AI is improving, but media buyers aren’t obsolete:
  • "You are innovating so much in your ad account…Do you feel media buyers are at risk of being pushed out?" ([23:50])
  • Ash: “No, I don’t think so… Do I keep this ad on or do I turn it off is not easy. That’s why having media buyers…is very, very important.” ([24:17, 25:06])
• Explains the nuanced, creative, and strategic roles—media buyers must understand business goals, creative strategy, CRO, and make business-driven decisions.

Notable Quote

“Making decisions based off of actual business outcomes, that is very valuable.”
— Ashvin Melwani ([27:10])

7. TikTok Shop: Winning Tactics & Community Building ([27:14-32:47])

• Success drivers:
  • “Getting your product into as many hands as possible…and making sure that those creators are posting as often as humanly possible.” ([28:15])
  • Huge initial investment—sent 1,000 products out at $20 each.
  • Layered incentives for creators: GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume) goals with escalating rewards (ring lights, AirPods, Dyson, up to a Tesla for $300k GMV).
  • “Within the first 24 hours, we had like a 30% response rate…big people, like with millions of followers, started to reach out.” ([28:58])
  • Community via Discord for all creators—encouraging engagement and sharing best practices.
  • Ongoing strategy: Boost creators’ videos, stack incentives, maintain high posting cadence.
  • “I want to buy somebody a Tesla this year. That is my goal.” ([32:16])

Notable Quote

"You need a lot of people posting about you, you need more chances of going viral. That was step one."
— Ashvin Melwani ([28:11])

8. The Road to Household Name via Retail ([32:47-37:28])

• The challenge: How does a DTC brand become a mainstream, household name?
• Reference to Byron Sharp’s “How Brands Grow”—retail presence key for CPG scale.
  • Ash: “It’s just mass marketing…getting into every retailer we possibly can…Walmart nationwide, Dollar General (10,000 stores), new product sizes…”
  • Transitioning focus to TV (linear, connected), broad brand campaigns boosting retail sales.
  • "Running TV is now our next step... you end up becoming an item on somebody’s grocery list." ([35:15])
• Obvi’s play: More products in more retailers, coupled with mass-market branding.

Notable Quote

"Can you be in as many places as possible and tell everybody that."
— Ashvin Melwani ([35:15])

Noteworthy Quotes

1. On Meta’s Algorithm Changes:
   “You don’t just see this, like, sharp decline overnight for no reason.” — Ashvin Melwani ([03:35])

2. On Fixing Pixel Data:
   “Fixing the pixel, health and data was very, very important.” — Ashvin Melwani ([04:19])

3. On Creative Testing:
   “I just ran a test last week. I changed the above the fold copy... 30% lift right there.” — Ashvin Melwani ([21:17])

4. On TikTok Shop Growth:
   "You need a lot of people posting about you, you need more chances of going viral. That was step one." — Ashvin Melwani ([28:11])

5. On the Role of Media Buyers:
   “Making decisions based off of actual business outcomes, that is very valuable.” — Ashvin Melwani ([27:10])

Key Timestamps

| Topic | Timestamp (MM:SS) | |-----------------------------------------|-----------------------| | Market & Meta/Andromeda context | 00:00 - 02:55 | | Diagnosing pixel & ad account issues | 02:55 - 08:14 | | Health category penalization dynamics | 08:14 - 13:30 | | Meta account reset & creative overhaul | 13:58 - 21:38 | | Proxima audience retraining | 21:38 - 23:50 | | The evolving media buyer role | 23:50 - 27:14 | | TikTok Shop tactics & incentives | 27:14 - 32:47 | | Retail scaling, TV campaigns | 32:47 - 37:28 |

Final Thoughts

• Ashvin delivers a rare, transparent look behind-the-scenes at how DTC brands have to fight volatility from black-box algorithms, adapt tech stacks, and diversify fast.
• Practical takeaways around pixel health, creative testing, TikTok Shop playbooks, and retail scaling.
• Essential listen for DTC marketers navigating 2025’s challenges; as Ash says, “The name of the game for 2025 is Just Survive and hope for the best.” ([00:50])

Further Resources

• Follow Ashvin Melwani on X (Twitter): For ongoing tactical DTC and Meta updates
• Obvi: myobvi.com
• DTC Podcast & Newsletter: directtoconsumer.co