Pinterest Hosts First ‘Color Takeover’ Campaign, Which Matches Products with Color Searches

In a first-of-its-kind activation, Pinterest has partnered with Jameson on what it’s calling a ‘color takeover’, which will see Jameson’s new ‘Orange’ whiskey product show up at the top of searches for orange-related queries in the app.

As you can see in this example, when a user searches for ‘orange’, an ad for the new Jameson Orange whiskey will show up amid the top results.

A explained by Pinterest:

“There are 16M+ searches for the word “orange” annually on Pinterest, and citrus flavor profiles, particularly orange, are high appeal amongst spirits drinkers. People come to Pinterest to plan and be inspired, making this collaboration one that allows the curious spirit drinkers to encounter a whiskey-forward taste with a unique orange twist. Through surprise and delight discovery, the partnership will introduce the new orange flavored whiskey to appear in searches like “Orange aesthetic”, “Orange Chicken”, and “Orange nails”.”

Which seems a little strange, as people who are searching for something entirely unrelated – like ‘orange nails’ – will be shown ads for whiskey. That doesn’t seem like optimal targeting, which will return the best results on ad spend – but maybe there’s an inherent link between color preferences and products, even if there’s no direct demand connection.

Pinterest does say that the campaign will ‘reach Pinners through unique contextual environments and occasions’, so maybe there is some more specific targeting at play. And it does look good to have the orange ad among other orange Pins. I’m just not sure it’s going to drive significant click through rates – but the results will tell the tale.

In any event, it’s an interesting activation, which could inspire new promotional opportunities and approaches for a range of brands and products.

I mean, people do like colors, and color psychology is a factor in decision making (85% of shoppers say that color is a primary motivator in purchase decisions).

We’re about to find out just how big of a factor it actually is.