Observed Signal · Jul 15, 2026 · Campaign · Source: The Drum · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Pinterest pushes users to go offline
Xanthe Wells, Pinterest’s vice-president of global creative, explains the company’s creative strategy to encourage people to spend less time on their phones, how Pinterest differentiates itself from social media, and the role of AI in creative work. Pinterest positions itself as a visual discovery platform with over 600 million users (over 50% Gen Z) and has launched a brand narrative and campaign anchored by the line “The best thing you can find online is a reason to go offline.” The company ran a phone-free Coachella activation, reports strong search growth for screen-free ideas, uses an in-house creative model (House of Creative), and provides users a toggle for AI-generated content on the platform.
Brand-facing campaign and positioning from a major consumer platform highlights Pinterest’s differentiation from social media and has moderate implications for advertisers and creative strategy, but it is not a platform policy or technical change that shifts the wider AdTech infrastructure.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Xanthe Wells has been Pinterest’s vice-president of global creative since November 2022.
- Pinterest reports more than 600 million users and that over 50% of its users are Gen Z.
- Pinterest’s new brand line/campaign is: “The best thing you can find online is a reason to go offline.”
- Pinterest ran a phone-free activation at Coachella to encourage attendees to put phones away.
- Pinterest offers a user toggle to opt in or out of seeing AI-generated pins on the platform.
Connected Companies & Entities
3 Entities mapped“What is the offer at Pinterest? Pinterest is in a unique place right now. We have over 600 million users....”
“I moved to Google for five and a half years, running the creative team for Devices and Services....”
“Most recently, I love Anthropic’s Claude campaign delivered by Mother, London....”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
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