Krylon: The First Ever Pinterest Yard Sale
Krylon needed to move beyond functional protection messaging to engage the growing DIY and upcycling community. Deutsch New York was tasked with proving that spray paint is a tool for value creation, targeting budget-conscious makers who wanted to turn thrift store finds into trendy home decor.
Creative Idea
Bought junk on a 690-mile road trip, painted it, and sold it via Pinterest.
Krylon proved the value-adding power of spray paint by purchasing worthless junk along a 690-mile yard sale, transforming it with paint, and selling it for profit on Pinterest, turning a utilitarian product into a creative wealth-generating tool.
Turning 10 Cent Junk Into Pinterest Gold
Six States and 690 Miles
The production was a grueling 690-mile road trip along the 127 Corridor Sale, stretching from Alabama to Michigan. Led by DIY expert and TV host Amy Devers, the team operated out of a custom-branded Krylon van that functioned as a mobile workshop and film studio. Social Content Manager Adrianne Benzion captured every frame of the campaign’s signature "thumb-stopping" GIFs in real-time, often filming in 95-degree heat inside cow fields and parking lots to maintain the project's raw, authentic aesthetic.
The First Buyable Pin
This campaign marked a historical milestone as the first brand to utilize Pinterest’s Buyable Pin feature for a major marketing push. By syncing the "flipping" process with immediate commerce, Krylon transformed Pinterest from a digital mood board into a direct retail channel. The strategy worked perfectly - all 127 items were sold, achieving a 100% sell-through rate. The project successfully shifted Krylon’s brand perception from a utilitarian rust-protector to a creative tool for the "upcycling" economy.
High Stakes on a Low Budget
Operating on a modest $200,000 budget, the team purchased items for as little as 10 cents from junk piles. After a single coat of paint, these items were sold for a profit, with nearly $2,000 in proceeds donated to the Charity Wings Art & Craft Center. The efficiency of the spend was staggering, generating $2.7 million in earned media and a 400% increase in Pinterest followers. Director Harold Einstein set the stage for the trip with "Yard Sale Hijack" TV spots, which established the "buy low, paint, sell high" concept that the road team then executed in the real world.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
Krylon's ability to instantly transform the aesthetic and perceived value of any surface with a single coat of paint.
Category
Competitors focused on boring functional benefits like rust protection, ignoring the emotional and financial rewards of the DIY movement.
Customer
DIY enthusiasts wanted to see the potential in old objects but lacked the inspiration to start their own flipping projects.
Culture
The World's Longest Yard Sale provided an authentic stage to demonstrate real-world transformation and pioneering social commerce technology.
Company
Krylon's ability to instantly transform the aesthetic and perceived value of any surface with a single coat of paint.
Category
Competitors focused on boring functional benefits like rust protection, ignoring the emotional and financial rewards of the DIY movement.
Strategy:
Shift brand perception from functional protection to creative value by demonstrating real-time transformation of worthless physical objects.
Customer
DIY enthusiasts wanted to see the potential in old objects but lacked the inspiration to start their own flipping projects.
Culture
The World's Longest Yard Sale provided an authentic stage to demonstrate real-world transformation and pioneering social commerce technology.
Strategy:
Shift brand perception from functional protection to creative value by demonstrating real-time transformation of worthless physical objects.
Results
The campaign achieved significant success with a $200,000 investment, generating $2.7 million in earned media. It also drove a 400% increase in daily visits to Krylon's Pinterest page. The project successfully launched Pinterest's new buyable pin functionality and provided over 100 DIY ideas to fans via social media. All proceeds from the sales were donated to charity.
$2.7M
earned media value
400%
increase in daily Pinterest visits
100+
DIY project ideas shared
Strategy Technique
Break a Category Convention
While competitors focused on the dull functional benefit of rust protection, Krylon pivoted to value creation. By highlighting the profit potential of DIY projects, they transformed a utility product into an aspirational creative tool.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Real-Time Relevance
The campaign operated in real-time across a 690-mile route, instantly transforming physical purchases into digital commerce. This immediacy proved the product's efficacy while leveraging Pinterest's brand-new Buyable Pins feature for instant impact.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
The campaign excels through its innovative use of social commerce and a strong experiential component that bridges the physical and digital worlds.
The strategic integration of a physical road trip with real-time Pinterest 'Buyable Pins' was a pioneering use of social commerce.
Transforming a 690-mile yard sale into a live brand activation created a tangible and engaging narrative for the audience.
The visual transformation of the junk items into high-end 'Pinterest-worthy' decor was essential to proving the product's value.
The script effectively pivots from standard industrial 'protection' claims to a more consumer-centric 'value' proposition.
The magic lies in the synergy between the physical activation on Route 127 and the digital execution on Pinterest, making the brand's utility immediately actionable.
