I'm great at turning down waiters who ask me about dessert, but I always succumb when my waiter brings a tray of fresh confections to my table. When the visual temptation appears in front of me, I always cave.
Over the past decade, retail has changed dramatically. If you havn't seen Amazon's new tv spot, it reminds us that they changed the way we shop for things. And it's true, the online juggernaut made $34.2 billion in 2011 and shows no signs of stopping. They showed us that buying stuff online-the stuff you already know you want-is often easier and cheaper. But Amazon never created a digital equivalent to window shopping. If you just want to buy "something cool", the internet rarely helps.
Then, Pinterest. With their recent ten million user landmark, Pinterest is full of products waiting to be discovered and purchased. For the first time, major brands and independent retailers get equal opportunity for exposure. On Pinterest, brands aren't built with decades of expensive ad campaigns, but with pins and boards.
It reminds me of those cool shops in LA where you walk in and there's one tshirt for sale. Whether or not you and I want a cute, miniature printer, the picture beckons you to take a closer look. A vast amount of Pinterest's content produces the same effect. By regularly visiting the site for fun, users willingly surround themselves with products. Even better, they tell their friends about the products that excite them. That's a new step for advertisers.
Yet again, the internet has posed another wild west for companies to try and sort out. I like it, though. If advertising can start moving away from pop-ups that interrupt your video, I'm all for it.