Pinterest & Big Brother
“Down, down, down, would the fall never come to an end?” - Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Here’s an exercise in outsourcing the creativity to the audience! Pinterest turned one fan’s Pin into ITV prime-time gold, by letting her design Big Brother’s Last Supper live on air.
The result? One dream dinner party, millions watching, 854 entries in two weeks and 82% of 16-34s loving the campaign.
A little background
You don’t go to Pinterest to scroll aimlessly. You go to plan. Whether you’re renovating your home or hosting a once-in-a-lifetime party, it’s where imagination turns into action. You could say it’s less a platform, more a rabbit hole…
To celebrate the new It’s Possible brand platform, Pinterest launched a whimsical ad series: cats in hats, fanciful outfits, and a dinner party with eight kinds of mashed potato! And to bring it to life in the real world, they turned to ITV for a disruptive launch idea - one that would pull viewers head-first down the Pinterest rabbit hole.
Our insight
Pinterest is a place to gather inspiration but it doesn’t stop there. It also gives the confidence to make their ideas happen.
The big idea
In a UK first, we would surrender editorial control of the Big Brother house, and invite one Pinterest user to design and host a real-life Mad Hatter’s Tea Party for the housemates’ Last Supper.
Making it happen
The Last Supper is a key Big Brother format point: the final dinner before the finale. For the first time ever, we offered a brand the chance to shape it.
Launched as a competition, viewers were invited to create Pinterest boards imagining the ultimate dinner party. A bespoke Big Brother landing page hosted the entries, complete with moodboards and set design sketches from the producers.
A two-week campaign ran in and around Big Brother, led by a co-branded TVCs fusing the worlds of Pinterest and the show. Voiced by Marcus Bentley (legendary Big Brother narrator), it playfully reimagined Pinterest through the lens of the Big Brother universe.
The campaign was extended across social, the Big Brother app, and targeted digital. Hundreds of entries poured in - from extravagant tablescapes to surrealist feasts. But one stood out: Amber Buck-Burrows, a Big Brother superfan!
One minute she was building her board in her bedroom, the next, she was on set working with the Big Brother art team to bring it to life. And she nailed it! Bold colours, joyful detail and total Pinterest magic.
More than 1.1 million viewers watched her dream unfold. And, as her name appeared in the end credits, it proved the point: on Pinterest, a Pin can become prime-time!
The results
In just two weeks, we’d had 854 entries - an incredible response given the user effort required.
The campaign resonated: 67% of Big Brother viewers liked the ad, rising to 82% among 16-34s (ITV campaign measurement).
Action followed: nearly 6 in 10 viewers interacted with Pinterest afterwards, rising to 8 in 10 among the younger ages. Half planned to visit or already had (MediaHub Brand Measurement Study).
It shifted perception too: 78% of 16-34s said Pinterest gives them relevant ideas for everyday life. 76% said it’s ‘for people like me’.
By turning the nation’s most iconic TV house into a real-life Pinterest board, we showed that Pinterest doesn’t just inspire creativity - it brings it to life!
Client Quote
“This partnership with ITV brought our brand to life in the most imaginative way. It didn’t just tell people what’s possible on Pinterest — it showed them. Seeing a real user’s dream become part of one of the UK’s biggest TV shows was the perfect expression of our mission: to turn inspiration into action." - Louise Richardson, Director of Marketing, Europe at Pinterest
Media Creativity: £250k to £1m
