Pinterest targets advertisers in campaign inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s film style

A favorite among Gen Z and millennials, Pinterest is the platform to find inspiration, home décor tips, recipes, and now a full suite of products for advertisers. In a series of action videos, the platform showcases its full range of products for advertisers hoping to turn users into customers. “The P is for Performance” features four mini-movies with a female duo who showcase how Pinterest can help drive sales in addition to brand awareness. “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, global creative VP 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.” Produced by the Pinterest House of Creative team, the mini-films follow the heroines through car chases and dangerous train rides while they discuss Pinterest’s strategies for advertisers. The platform reported seeing an up to 28% increase in conversions and as much as a 96% increase in traffic for advertisers. The campaign focuses on performance products such as mobile deep links, direct links, its own API conversions and shopping ads. The last helps brands engage with users while they are still browsing on the platform. The mini-films were directed by Tim Godsall and follow the look and style of director Alfred Hitchcock’s rear-projection technique. This method projects a pre-recorded visual behind the main shot, giving viewers a feeling of motion as if they are actually following the actors in a car chase. Aside from this retro-esque feature, the spots open with a voice-over by Corey Burton, known for voicing Count Dooku in the animated series “Star Wars: The Clone Wars.” Burton introduces each spot by saying “High Action! Lower Funnel!” as the film titles, designed by Kurt Volk, fill the screen. The videos also pay homage to other action classics. Pinterest heroines ride on top of a train, a la “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.” “Good thing Pinterest is giving marketers another choice with their new performance products,” one of the heroines tells viewers from the top of the train. “Car Chase” takes a page from James Bond’s “For Your Eyes Only.” And snowmobile chase scene recalls the action in Bruce Willis' “Die Hard 2.” “Into conversion results,” one of our female leads says, to which the other replies, “What else would we be talking about?” The concept of “high action, lower funnel” really shines through in these spots, blending conversion shop talk with speed-defying moves. The campaign follows Pinterest’s fourth-quarter earnings. Revenue from advertisers using at least three of Pinterest’s performance tools increased from 2% to 23% in 2023, according to the company.

Pinterest targets advertisers in campaign inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s film style

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