content
The world of ad platforms is widening: how Reddit and Pinterest stepped out of the shadows and why you should test them now
Introduction: from niches to the new normal
A few years ago, Reddit and Pinterest were “exotics” most performance teams felt safe to postpone. Today this duo competes loudly for a place in your media mix. To keep it practical, here at ADV Advantage we explain why these platforms have become must-test alongside Google Ads, LinkedIn, and Meta, and how exactly they create value. Current numbers speak for themselves: in Q2 2025 Reddit reported +84% year-over-year growth in ad revenue to $465 million (total revenue $500 million), while Pinterest reached a record 578 million MAU and +17% revenue growth to $998 million (source: company reports, Q2 2025).
Cultural code: what Reddit and Pinterest are to the world
Reddit is “the internet in miniature” with its subcultures: tens of thousands of subreddits from r/SkincareAddiction to r/mechanicalkeyboards, an upvote/downvote mechanic, and hands-on community moderation. People discuss everything here, from sysadmin tasks to choosing a stroller. Historic AMA sessions (“Ask Me Anything”) with scientists, founders, or global celebrities turned the platform into a place for straight answers rather than polished press releases. In 2025 Reddit even introduced tools built on its own “Community Intelligence” that structures more than 22 billion posts and comments—opening a door to insights drawn directly from human conversations (source: Reddit product announcements, 2025).
Pinterest is a giant inspiration board where people come to plan the future: a renovation, a trip, a style, gifts. A key nuance—intent is often “warm” here: users hunt for ideas and get ready to act, so content and ads do not compete with news or chats but push toward a shopping list. Visual search via Lens is already a habit: you show the camera an object and the service finds similar products and collections. At scale this works: in Q2 2025 Pinterest reached 578 million MAU and doubled down on shopping and gen-AI creative tools (source: Pinterest results, Q2 2025).
Why advertisers avoided these platforms for so long
There were several reasons. First, historical brand-safety fears on Reddit: raw language, irony, hot topics—not every brand is ready for that. Second, the creative fit was hard: “polished” assets from other social networks looked out of place, and without a native tone communities reacted painfully. Third, tool maturity: until recently Reddit lacked robust catalog formats, automation, and measurement. Pinterest, for its part, was long perceived as too “upper funnel”: inspiration was there, but the short path to purchase was not always clear. Add demographic stereotypes (“it’s all DIY and weddings”) and B2B or technical verticals were slow to believe in the channel.
How audiences react to advertising
On Reddit people expect direct conversation and arguments. Gilded promises are downvoted fast: communities point to weak spots instantly. Honest demos, helpful guides, real comparisons, and a tone that respects the subreddit context work best. Quick brand replies in comments are part of the “deal with the audience.”
On Pinterest expectations differ: users come for ideas, so ads should organically extend the mood of the boards. “How-to” visuals, clear product mosaics, collages, and shoppable posts that remove steps on the path to cart tend to win. The platform rewards order: the better your catalog, attributes, and photos, the higher your chances to surface for people who actually want that content.
What changed: why they are “on a roll” right now
Reddit now has a mature commerce stack: Dynamic Product Ads pull items from your catalog and automatically place them into relevant conversations and communities; integrations with partners like Smartly exist; and the formats work for both prospecting and retargeting. Together with automation, these products helped deliver Reddit’s strongest ad quarter: Q2 2025 ad revenue of $465 million (+84% YoY) (source: Reddit results, Q2 2025).
Pinterest, meanwhile, went all in on shopping: its long-running partnership with Amazon brings third-party commercial demand into the platform and shortens the path to purchase, while product updates to shopping formats and gen-AI creatives push conversions. The outcome—578 million MAU and +17% revenue to $998 million in Q2 2025—confirms that “inspiration → intent → purchase” is getting shorter on Pinterest (source: Pinterest results, Q2 2025).
Where they beat Google Ads, LinkedIn, and Meta
Google captures formed intent, Meta manufactures demand and re-engages warm interest, and LinkedIn shines in B2B identity. Reddit and Pinterest cover different layers:
-
Community context (Reddit). You do not burst into a generic feed; you enter a small room where people are actively discussing your category. Retargeting and catalog ads gain an extra layer of trust from the conversation’s context. Add new community-centered products—like formats that surface positive posts under the ad—and you get social proof “on the spot.”
-
Visual intent (Pinterest). People arrive to search for “how to style a light-wood kitchen” or “gift ideas for turning 30.” This is not random scroll; it is planning. Shopping catalogs, collections, and pin boards provide a longer but cleaner route to purchase, especially in home, beauty, fashion, decor, and gifts.
The result is a more incremental lift in the upper and middle funnel—something you will not always see in a last-click view in Google Analytics but will feel in brand recall, branded search share, and the frequency of direct traffic.
What creatives and rules of the game work
On Reddit, aim for “one minute of usefulness”: a short answer to a specific pain, a clear demo clip, a comparison graphic with numbers. Humor is welcome without condescension; above all, respect subreddit rules and do not disguise ads as “advice from a friend.” This is exactly where DPA helps: it pulls the product into the moment when the topic is already “on people’s tongues.”
On Pinterest, clean visuals, vertical formats, “how to wear/what to pair” collages, step-by-step how-tos, and “gift ideas” collections perform best. Your catalog must be immaculate: titles, prices, variations, GTIN—everything affects ranking and relevance in visual search. The Amazon partnership brings more relevant products into tap-to-buy scenarios, closing the long-standing gap between inspiration and checkout.
Fun facts for those who “do not hang out there”
Reddit officially counts its active base as DAUq—”daily active uniques”—highlighting unique people rather than mere sessions, and builds products around community behavior, not just individual profiles. Q2 2025: 110.4 million DAUq (+21% YoY), which helps plan reach and frequency without inflated estimates (source: Reddit results, Q2 2025).
Pinterest has one of the healthiest intent signals in social media because users literally build boards of plans—from a dream kitchen to a wedding or a mountain trek. And yes, in 2025 the Gen Z share is growing, expanding use cases from shopping to learning and careers.
Why the ads “started working” now
Three factors converged. First, product maturity: Reddit added catalog formats, better measurement, and AI-driven community insights; Pinterest unlocked shopping and brought third-party commercial demand through Amazon. Second, creative adaptation: brands learned to speak the native language rather than cloning banners from Meta. Third, the privacy macrotrend: in a world where third-party cookies steadily lose power, context and first-party data matter more. Reddit’s conversation context and Pinterest’s visual intent are precisely about that.
What to test in the next quarter
-
Reddit: Dynamic Product Ads with a product feed, subreddits with high commercial intent, and fast replies in comment threads as part of the creative strategy.
-
Pinterest: a Shopping catalog with multiple aspect ratios (1:1, 2:3, 9:16), collection formats and “how to choose/how to pair” scenarios, and work with trending searches.
Conclusion: they have earned their place in the mix
Reddit and Pinterest have stopped being “nice add-ons” to the main plan. When one platform provides community context and insights from live conversations, and the other delivers a clean stream of visual intent with a shorter path to purchase, that is not an “option” but a competitive advantage. The market has already voted with numbers: Reddit delivered a record ad quarter, and Pinterest set an all-time user high and accelerated monetization (source: company reports, Q2 2025). Now it is your turn. Take a small budget, define a clear hypothesis for each platform, and look at incremental lift in the upper and mid-funnel—brand search share, direct traffic, frequency of assisted conversions. If the result sticks, scale it. In a world where traditional channels are getting more expensive and less predictable, Reddit and Pinterest are not romantic side quests; they are a pragmatic path to growth.
Subscribe to our newsletter
