Pinterest ads appear on the platform in a variety of ways designed to blend in with the surrounding imagery. Interspersed between organic content, creative Pinterest ads can help you reach the platform’s 640 million monthly active users.
Pinterest reports that 96% of its top searches are unbranded, indicating that users are undecided when they’re browsing the platform. Advertising on Pinterest helps you reach potential shoppers while they’re still searching for what they want to buy.
This guide explains the common types of Pinterest ads, with real-world Pinterest ad examples to show the elements that make for a successful ad.
What are Pinterest shopping ads?
Shopping ads are a broad category on Pinterest. Instead of describing a specific ad format, the term “shopping ad” describes where an ad’s product information comes from. Pinterest shopping ads pull product data, such as up-to-date pricing and website links, from your product catalog.
One benefit of a shopping ad is that it updates to reflect on-site changes to your product information. You can create shopping ads in four specific ad formats:
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Image shopping ads
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Video shopping ads
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Carousel shopping ads
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Personal collections shopping ads
The creative assets for each of these shopping ads, aside from the hero creative for a personal collections shopping ad, will be pulled from your product catalog. This means that if you want to create a video shopping ad, your product catalog should include a video asset for the item you want to turn into an ad.
Common Pinterest ad types
You need a Pinterest business account to create ads and sell on the platform. If you’re on Shopify, use the Pinterest app for Shopify to sync your inventory, create ads, and track conversions.
You can sell on Pinterest by using these common ad types. Less common ad formats, like local inventory ads and top of search ads, aren’t available to everyone or require working directly with a Pinterest account manager and aren’t included below.
Image
An image ad is the simplest ad format you can make on Pinterest. It has only one image, and it looks just like a standard pin. Files for an image ad must be a PNG or JPEG file type, cannot be bigger than 20 megabytes for Pinterest on desktops, and cannot be bigger than 32 megabytes for the Pinterest app.
Pinterest recommends an aspect ratio of 2:3 for image ads. Your title can be up to 100 characters, and the description may be up to 800 characters.
Carousel
A carousel ad has multiple images, also called cards, that users can swipe through. Each card on the carousel can link to a different landing page. You can center the products shown in the carousel around a central theme, such as pieces of furniture for a living room, or show varieties of the same product—like four new sweaters in your fall collection.
You can upload between two and five images for a Pinterest carousel ad, with an aspect ratio of 1:1 or 2:3. Image files can be no bigger than 20 megabytes and must be in PNG or JPEG format.
If you create a dynamic carousel, which automatically pulls creative assets from yourproduct catalog based on what the platform thinks will perform well, you can include both images and videos in the ad. You don’t need to manually upload image or video files for a dynamic carousel because Pinterest will pull from your existing creative when you integrate your ecommerce store with your Pinterest business account.
Collage
Collage ads let you highlight multiple products in one standard pin. You can add a variety of product cutouts onto one single image, linking to different landing pages for each product. Collage ads are built from standard pins. To create a collage ad, first make an organic collage pin out of standard pins, then promote it as an ad.
The platform suggests having at least four or five different visual elements in a collage. The pins you use to create a collage ad should have white or light backgrounds.
Collections
A collections ad stars one large hero image with three smaller (secondary) images directly underneath it. When Pinterest users tap on the ad, they’ll see the hero image and up to 24 related secondary images, including the three that were shown in the initial ad. You must upload one hero image and a minimum of three secondary images to create a collections ad.
The aspect ratios for all of the images must be 1:1 or 2:3. Pinterest recommends that the secondary images have a 1:1 aspect ratio to prevent them from being automatically cropped. Your hero creative does not need to be the same aspect ratio as the secondary images. You can also upload a video for your collections ad hero. This should be an MP4, MOV, or M4V, a maximum of 2 gigabytes in file size, and between 4 seconds and 15 minutes in length.
Pinterest refers to collections ads as personal collections ads when you create them as shopping ads, pulled from your product catalog.
Idea
Idea ads are the promoted version of idea pins, a format that allows users to add multiple pieces of content, like images, videos, and custom text, in one Pin. If you’re familiar with Instagram Stories, you’ll notice idea ads have a similar format. Users tap through from one piece of content to another within the pin. Pinterest notes that idea ads are intended to tell a story as users tap through them.
Image files for an idea ad should be BMP, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, or WEBP format. Videos should be MP4, M4V, or MOV format. Pinterest recommends that files be less than 1 gigabyte in size. The maximum length for a video in an idea ad is five minutes. Titles should not be longer than 100 characters, and on-screen text in each frame should be no more than 250 characters.
Quiz
Quiz ads are interactive. This ad format provides multiple-choice questions and answers to Pinterest users, then gives them a quiz result based on their responses. Questions are displayed in front of a title pin, which can be an image or video, and a user’s result will appear in front of a results pin.
A results pin can have an image, title, description, and link to an external landing page of your choice. For example, if a beauty brand creates a quiz ad to help users find the best sunscreen for them, the results pin can link to that product page.
You can have a maximum of three results for a quiz ad. A quiz title can be 100 characters max, text overlay on the pin should be no more than 10 words, questions can be up to 96 characters (including spaces), and answers can be up to 48 characters (including spaces).
Showcase
Like carousel ads, a showcase ad contains multiple cards that users can swipe through, and showcase ads have a title pin followed by up to four additional featured cards. However, showcase ads are more interactive than carousel ads, allowing up to three tappable creative elements on each card with links to different landing pages. A title card can be an image or video, but follow-up feature cards must be static images.
Pinterest notes that you should keep text and other visual elements on your showcase ads within 342 by 430 pixels to prevent them from being cut off on some devices. Keep text overlay on any cards to 10 words max.
Video
There are two types of video ads: standard-width video ads and max-width video ads. Standard-width video ads are the same size as a normal pin, while max-width video ads span a user’s feed.
Standard video pins should be:
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MP4, MOV, or M4V format
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Up to 2 gigabytes in size
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Between 4 seconds and 15 minutes in length
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Shorter than 1:2 and taller than 1.91:1
Pinterest recommends keeping creative for video advertising between 6 and 15 seconds and sticking to a square or vertical aspect ratio.
Max-width video ads have the same file size and length requirements; however, max-width videos cannot have a height greater than a 1:1 aspect ratio.
Pinterest ad examples
- Quiet Town: video ad
- Alohas: collections ad
- Brooklinen: image ad
- AKT London: carousel ad
- Maia Home: image ad
Here are some examples of eye-catching Pinterest ads to inspire your own:
Quiet Town: video ad
Quiet Town, a home goods brand that specializes in bathroom décor, turned its product images into a video ad without capturing or using any video footage. Instead, Quiet Town turns a series of similar product shots into a video clip by quickly flipping through them. Scrolling Pinterest users see flashes of color as the product images change and show off a variety of products.
Alohas: collections ad
Alohas uses a collections ad to highlight several different pairs of its shoes. The images have similar styling and photography but very different shoes, which highlights the variety in the brand’s collections.
Brooklinen: image ad
This simple image ad from Brooklinen shows a lifestyle shot of a bed with many layers of Brooklinen sheets and pillow covers. They add large, eye-catching ad copy that asserts a bold claim.
The ad has minimal copy, which still uses clever wordplay, a unique selling proposition (USP), and the name of the brand. This focus is particularly useful on Pinterest, where ads don’t take up the entire width of a feed and need to be legible in a small size.
AKT London: carousel ad
A carousel ad lets you include details about your products or brand within an ad without making any single image or video clip overwhelming. The deodorant brand AKT London uses this ad format to share details about a series of deodorant balms and sprays. The first card uses bold photography and very simple text to share information about a new product line, while subsequent cards dive deeper into the scent profile of each product within the collection.
Maia Home: image ad
Because Pinterest is a visual platform where users typically are looking for creative inspiration, simple, lifestyle-driven images can make effective ads. This image ad from the décor company Maia Home shares that the brand is having a sale, while doubling as a lifestyle image users might save to boards documenting kitchen décor and glassware ideas.
Elements of an effective Pinterest ad
A successful ad campaign follows logistical best practices for Pinterest and has visually appealing creative. Here are the key elements that will help you nail both:
Mobile-friendly format
Although Pinterest works on both desktop computers and phones, it is primarily a mobile app. The majority of pins are vertical, and Pinterest recommends using a 2:3 aspect ratio for the best results. If you have a square image that you think would be great for advertising on Pinterest, try adding a border around it to change the aspect ratio. This also gives you space to layer text above and below the photo.
Eye-catching content
When prospective customers are skimming Pinterest, they’re looking for inspiration. That could be visual inspiration, ideas for what to buy, or both, so your promoted pins should be visually striking enough to stop them mid-scroll.
Because promoted pins look like and function similarly to other content on Pinterest, you still need to provide users with the inspiration they’re searching for. Highlighting a specific aesthetic, product suggestion, solution to a common problem, aspirational lifestyle image, or advice are just a few ways to do that.
The exact style of imagery that works best will vary depending on your brand and target audience. Try A/B testing with bold colors, lifestyle images, and product photos that are layered with bold text to see what resonates best with audiences on Pinterest.
If you’re deciding between an image ad or video ad for your Pinterest ad campaign, test a static photo first. According to Sprout Social, while many other social media platforms are shifting more toward video, data shows that Pinterest users are most likely to engage with static images and shoppable pins.
Clear call to action
Bake a clear call to action directly into your ad creative so prospective shoppers know what to do next. This could be simple, large text that says “Shop now.” If you want a slightly less direct option, you might use text that notifies prospective customers about a sale on your site, with language like “On sale now” or “20% off sitewide.” Make it obvious why someone should click on a link to your website.
Concise titles and descriptions
All promoted pins and ads should have a title and description. This information functions similarly to metadata on a website, helping Pinterest better understand who to show your promoted pins to. Titles may be visible to Pinterest users in the home and search feeds, while descriptions are typically hidden.
Keep the text in both fields clear and relevant. Make descriptions keyword-rich, informing the platform about your product and avoiding generic marketing terms.
Pinterest ads examples FAQ
What are the most common types of Pinterest ads?
The most common Pinterest ad formats are image ads, carousel ads, collage ads, collections ads, quiz ads, showcase ads, and video ads.
What makes a Pinterest ad effective?
An effective Pinterest ad will adhere to the recommended best practices and use visuals that are engaging, inspiring, and informative. You should create Pinterest ads with your target audience in mind, and the imagery it centers needs to appeal to your prospective shoppers.
How do you measure Pinterest ad performance?
The key metrics include impressions, click-through rate, website traffic, and revenue. Business accounts have access to Pinterest’s campaign manager dashboard, which will give you detailed insight into the performance of your ads on the platform. If you use Shopify and have linked your store to Pinterest through the Pinterest app for Shopify, then you can see which sales came from Pinterest.
