Pinterest beckons advertisers to its platform in action series ‘The P is for Performance’

Directed by comedy commercial director Tim Godsall and voiced by popular voice actor Corey Burton, the creative features two over-the-top heroines dodging dangers while discussing how advertisers crave a performance-based platform that can boost conversion rates and increase traffic. Comprising four action-packed spots titled ‘Car Chase,’ ‘Snowmobile,’ ‘Train’ and ‘Volcano,’ the campaign promotes a suite of products for advertisers seeking to convert users into buyers.

In the making of this work, the team abandoned CGI in favor of old-school, Alfred Hitchcock-style, rear projection filmmaking in order to recreate the essence of a timeless action movie.

“Inspired by the aesthetic of iconic action movies, we wanted to tell our performance advertising story in a way only Pinterest can – with elevated style and an element of the unexpected,” said Xanthe Wells, vice-president of global creative at Pinterest. “We took a moviemaking approach and tapped exceptional talent from the film industry to craft a high-action story that breaks through the conventions of B2B marketing.”

The campaign showcases notable improvements for Pinterest’s advertisers, which evolves the platform from an upper funnel and lower funnel champion for advertisers, including a 28% increase in conversions and a 96% boost in traffic. These enhancements include the introduction of tools, such as ‘Mobile Deep Links’ for targeted actions on apps, ‘Direct Links’ for a seamless transition to product pages, the ‘Pinterest API for Conversions’ facilitating secure server-to-server connections for enhanced reporting, and the effectiveness of ‘Shopping Ads’ in engaging users during their inspiration-seeking journey on the platform.

For this reason, each of the ads reprises the catchphrase “High-action! Lower funnel!”

“Pinterest is an iconic brand, and we wanted to create pop-culture jewels to tell a story that turns performance marketers’ heads with an unmissable, totally unique Pinterest style,” added Godsall. “What better way to talk about high action in the lower funnel than to lean into the timeless genre of action movies?”

Pinterest also notes its rising popularity among Gen Z for searching, saving and shopping. Brands like Urban Outfitters are capitalizing on the platform’s advertising solutions to connect with this demographic. Urban Outfitters’ holiday campaign, utilizing the new ad feature, Direct Links, experienced a significant 132% increase in outbound clicks and a 57% reduction in CPCs during the holiday season.

The campaign will run in the US, UK and Australia across paid social, programmatic and trade publication channels before entering global markets later this year.

It arrives on the heels of Pinterest’s Q4 financial results, which highlighted revenue growth of 12% to $981m and a record-breaking global monthly user base of 498 million. During the call, Pinterest noted that advertisers utilizing three or more of its performance tools experienced revenue growth from 2% at the start of 2023 to 23% by year-end.

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