Quenlin Blackwell Took Pinterest’s Advice and Actually Went Phone-Free at Coachella

2 min read

Coachella, for many, is content-creation central. Different activations promise photo opportunities. Celebrities pop up and serve looks (and drinks). Art installations litter the festival grounds with the promise of cotton-candy sunsets every night. Pinterest, however, took a different approach to the festival this year—encouraging guests, including Quenlin Blackwell, model and host of Feeding Starving Celebrities, to go phone-free.

“Pinterest helps you get inspired and then gets you out into the real world to live your real life,” Sara Pollack, Global Head of Consumer Marketing at Pinterest, says. “We’re clearly in a moment in time where burnout and phone addiction is totally real. At festivals and concerts, you go and usually all you see is a bunch of people holding their phones in the air, capturing the moment at the expense of actually being there. Let’s have people be in the moment. Joy comes from being in the moment with community.”

The centerpiece of Pinterest’s activation was a charm stand, where guests added embellishments to sunglasses, key chains, and more.

According to the brand, Gen Z-ers are searching for “analog aesthetic” on Pinterest more than ever: The term is up 260 percent when compared to the same period last year, while searches for “dumb phone” are similarly up 150 percent. “We are really about personal exploration and finding the inspiration to create a life around you,” Pollack says. “Our algorithm literally is built on signals that demonstrate action and engagement. Let’s help you get inspired and then go do the thing, buy the thing, wear the thing, cook the thing.”

At Coachella, the brand is using Yonder cases to lock festival-goers’ phones away as they enter the on-site Pinterest activation space. Inside, guests can embellish key chains, get their makeup done, or send a postcard home. (Yes, they could literally mail their “Joy Guide” to a destination of their choice.) Surrounded by color throughout the activation, the finishing touch is a rainbow lenticular photo. The message is clear: Analog activities, conversations with friends, and connection bring joy to the stage.

Blackwell was just one individual who stopped by the Pinterest activation during Coachella. She also stars in the brand’s campaign, and she chose to go truly phone-free for her festival experience. “My phone is basically my job,” Blackwell says. “I’m always thinking about the shot, the edit, the caption. Even when I’m ‘in the moment,’ a tiny part of me is still directing it. The idea of going ‘phone-free’ with Pinterest? It felt insane, but also refreshing. It’s giving me permission to be present, to feel the music, meet new people, to be part of the community. I won’t be watching the weekend through a screen, but experiencing it in the rawest, realest way.”

Blackwell inside the Pinterest activation.

As for who she was most excited to see perform—sans phone? “Sabrina Carpenter headlining is going to be a moment,” Blackwell says. “Karol G making history as the first Latina to headline Coachella…I feel like that’s going to be one of those sets people talk about forever. I also need to see Addison Rae’s set, because that’s my girl.”