UNICEF’s new Pinterest campaign cleverly turns the concept of this visual social network on its head. The site – normally dominated by photos of delectable desserts, beautiful vacation spots, or home decor – is a showcase for the “wish list” of a fictional 13-year-old girl from Sierra Leone, which includes basic necessities like rice and running water. According to Mashable, the site “adds perspective to the aspiration-filled social network.”
The campaign features the fictional Pinterest profile of young Ami Musa of Sierra Leone. On her “Really want these” board, viewers can find images of hands holding plain rice, a rusty faucet, shoes, hands being washed with soap and writing on a school blackboard. Each pinned photo links to a page soliciting donations for UNICEF’s work to provide clean drinking water, food and shelter to children worldwide.
“We wanted to shake things up a bit in a way that’s very specific to Pinterest, by taking what it’s known for — being a wishlist — and turning it on its head,” Jeremy Garner, executive creative director at Weapon7, the UK-based creative agency, told Mashable. “It’s trying to use Pinterest in a way that’s very thought provoking and poignant, since this girl is pinning the basic essentials of life.”
What do you think — would you look twice at this Pinterest profile (and maybe think differently about your own)? Would it inspire you to donate?
