Renegade. A 360° Communications Company.

By Louise Cooper

Back in high school when I was looking at colleges with good advertising programs, a professor said to me that advertisers are above used car salesmen but below lawyers. Aside from giving my dad, a lawyer, a good laugh, the professor made the point that advertisers have a reputation for being manipulative, deceptive and whatever other negative –ives you can think of.

Well, that professor might’ve had something very different to say if he’d seen Renegade’s “Shatter the Violence” campaign for the One Love Foundation. First, a little background on the organization: the One Love Foundation was created by Sharon and Lexie Love in honor of Yeardley Love, the UVA lacrosse player whose life was cut short by a horrific act of relationship violence.

Our agency was tasked with promoting the organization’s mission to combat relationship violence, something one in three women are a victim of, by encouraging friends and family to intervene. In addition, we wanted to educate viewers on a revolutionary new app, based on research at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, that helps victims and their loved ones make an assessment of the danger of relationship violence.

Coming up with ideas worthy of this amazing organization would be no easy task, and we brainstormed many great ideas until we and the client ultimately decided on “Shatter the Violence.” The spot below speaks for itself.

Everyone at Renegade, whether they brainstormed ideas, helped with the shoot, worked some post-production magic or simply saw the idea come to life, was deeply moved and proud to be a part of this experience. And for me, a college girl myself only a few years ago who, sad to say, knew people affected by relationship violence, it was especially meaningful.

And to that professor, and anyone who doesn’t exactly view advertisers as shining examples of humanity, I hope you now view us as at least on par with lawyers.

Louise Cooper, Copywriter/Shining Example of Humanity

By the intern sweatshop

As a side note, in Kristen's defense, she wrote this two months ago, BEFORE Pinterest became the 3rd most popular social network on the Web. Man, I'm tired of finding such smart interns. I should work in HR (PS that would be a horrible, horrible idea). - George

Dream up a place of beautiful things, where you can wander around until real life hits you back in the face.  A place where luxurious beach vacations exist, the perfect outfit, and the most delicious meal you’ve always wanted to make. 

Well I’m telling you this place actually dose exists...online.  It’s the new social media site.  An online scrapbook called Pinterest.  Some of you are probably way too overwhelmed with all these social media outlets, but once I started using Pinterest I was hooked, or should I say pinned?    

Users can create boards and “pin” or upload personal photos to share with other users.  Each board can have a category, for example a board for fashion, crafts, weddings, beauty, health, animals, quotes, funny humor, décor and the list goes on and on.

Once on the main page, there is an assortment of what everyone has been posting.  You can “like” someone’s posts and comment on them, much like Facebook.  And if you like someone’s posts enough, you can follow them, so that posts you like show up more frequently on your main page. 

What makes Pinterest a little more unique than other sites is that it’s invite only. Once on Pinterest's site, you can click to ask for an invite, or an already invited user can send you an invite for a quicker response. Getting an invitation is exciting, which is why Pinterest added this special touch..."for members only."

So why else is Pinterest so special? Pinterest is much simpler when compared to Facebook. It’s a memory booster where users can go back to pictures that they have posted or pictures they have liked for future references. Once you upload a picture from a website, all you have to do is click on that picture and it refers you right to the original site.

This is their main niche. Rather than digging through your news feed, or searching through Google, it’s all right there. You’re just one click away from finding out where that cute top is from, a new delicious recipe, or  another exciting travel adventure. If you’re starting to think this is a great source for advertising, you’re exactly right.  

Pinterest is mostly a female dominated site. According to David Pogue, The New York Times, 80% of users are female, which is reason why so many businesses and marketers have also jumped on the Pinterest craze. A lot of fashion houses and store departments have created accounts and made boards for their merchandise. This tactic is easy, free and fun for the creator and the user.   

But there is always room for improvement, Pinterest has been around for about two years now, and all of a sudden it is taking over. I think they should create a sister site, or I should say a brother site that targets a male audience. “Menterest” may sound a little derogatory (if not just silly), but pins could be more about, fitness, workouts, travel, cars, and sports (see Gentlemint, WhereIstheCool or DartItUp-George). This link can be right on the Pinterest main page. Men are consumers too. Taking advantage of this can help any business. Also women can take advantage of this to see what the male audience really enjoys, a good way to look up gifts for their guy, friend or dad. 

Now the real question is, how long will this last? Is Pinterest just a fad or a useful tool that will outdo other social media outlets out there?

So go ahead, don’t be afraid to show off your interests with “Pinterest.”

Click, they all have a link.

-Kristen Wurth, Precognative Creative Department Intern