Be a pineapple. Stand tall, wear a crown and be sweet on the inside. Who originally created the infamous 'Be a Pineapple' quote?
First, let's do a little research.
When you Google the quote, there are 1.1 million results:
If you like pineapples, have visited a mall in the summer, are on Pinterest or Instagram, you've definitely seen this quote.
Or maybe you saw it at Charming Charlie...
...or Chapters Indigo...
...or Marley Lilly...
...or Perfectly Posh...
...or maybe on Etsy...
...or Instagram and Pinterest...
Reese Witherspoon also shared these words on her Twitter, Facebook and Instagram on May 2016.
She has a combined reach of 16 million people:
What do all of these brands have in common?
They all didn't credit the original source of the quote.
In the age of Pinterest, Instagram and Tumblr, free creative inspiration is easy to find, so most don't think twice about researching the artist.
Why didn't they credit the author?
Because they most likely didn't know who coined the pineapple phrase.
If you try to search for the 'Be a Pineapple' quote's original source, this is what comes up:
Not very helpful.
Well sweet friends, I'm here to shout it to the sunshine gods and goddesses:
I am the author and original source of that precious pineapple prose.
So I'd love to share with you how I came up with the words and how they went viral.
Who am I? I am a pineapple.
Date: A few days before June 11, 2014
Salty Pineapple is my brand, my love, my heart and soul.
In 2014, I was 2 years into climbing my way up the Insta-ladder, figuring out my signature design style and tapping into my pineapple obsession.
I've got a thing for pineapples, bright colors, sunsets and the beach.
My goal for Salty Pineapple was to build a brand that inspired people to follow their dreams, be happy and embrace what makes them unique.
I wrote this down 5 years ago and it's taped up on my office wall still to this day.
I wanted a cute and catchy quote that reflected my personality and shared my brand's positive message.
It takes a while for me to warm up to people so I've been known to have a "tough" exterior. Once you get to know me though, I'm a sweet person I swear!
The pineapple and I could relate on so many levels.
Be sweet? Be tough? Be prickly?
I brainstormed a few variations of the quote. Once I fine tuned the exact words and read it out loud, I knew I had a winner!
This would be the line.
I immediately did a Google search for the exact phrase as well as a few variations in case by some rare occurrence another pineapple-loving creative writer had already coined the phrase.
Nothing even close came up in the results. Woo!
The Instagram Post
Date: June 11, 2014 at 5:23 ET
The words were shared on my Instagram as a caption along with a photo I shot and edited.
The image also included my 'Be a Pineapple' hand lettering.
The final photo edit made me so happy!
I had the perfect caption to go along with it too -- it was the ideal one-two punch for my Instagram.
I couldn't wait to share it with my few hundred followers.
The post received a couple hundred likes -- pretty standard for my engagement at the time, so I thought nothing of it.
I was sharing my art and creativity like I always did.
Should I have credited myself? Probably.
But quoting myself on Instagram seemed redundant as I've always written my captions. They are my original and unique thoughts.
I had a friend say, 'Kat, you should trademark that quote you just shared! It's incredible!'.
Little did I know, it would eventually go viral.
What does it mean to be a pineapple?
The meaning of the quote runs deep for me.
It inspires me every day to be confident, hold my head high and live a life filled with kindness.
Be a pineapple. Everyone's on their own journey towards figuring out who they are. Might as well be a beautiful, tropical fruit specimen, right?
Stand tall. Be unapologetically proud of who you are and celebrate what makes you different. Strive to stand out amongst the crowd and shine bright.
Wear a crown. Treat yourself like the queen or king you are and expect everyone around you to do the same. You're precious, unique, rare and wonderful.
Be sweet on the inside. Give love to as many people as you can, open your heart to the world and lead with kindness. We shouldn't need a reason to be nice.
What it's Like to Have your Quote Go Viral
Date: Today, July 2017
It's incredibly humbling to witness the power of the Internet first-hand.
When I quit my job in 2012 to pursue freelance life, I daringly set out to change the world.
And I'm proud that this is how I did it.
These words have inspired many to embrace their own unique creativity, channel their inner artist and share their pineapple love with millions.
From left to right: @theclassypeople | @the_happy_planner | @jesstipletters | @nickylaatz | behappy.me | @goodhousekeeping | iliketoquote.com | wallwords.com | Simple Organic Life
How COOL is that?
These words have even crossed the ocean to Cairns, Australia:
Going viral has also been bittersweet.
Ha! See what I did there?
I'm ecstatic that my words have spread across the world. The quote inspires confidence, positivity and happiness within people.
But then, how should I feel about the companies who are making a profit from my quote? I've never received any royalties or licensing fees.
Technically, my quote is copywritten -- as an artist, anything you create automatically has a copyright.
I've come to terms with it all though.
Such is life.
Besides, I'd rather focus my precious time on things that make me happy -- like going to the beach!
Why haven't I trademarked the quote?
Simply put, it would cost a quarter of a million dollars.
I would need to send each and every business a legal cease and desist letter. Each letter costs about $500 USD x let's say 500 businesses = $250,000 USD.
How can you share more pineapple love?
- If you come across the quote on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook or wherever, kindly ask the account to credit the original author @katgaskin.
- Want to license the quote to use for commercial use to sell on a t-shirt, notebook, towel, etc.?
If you could please credit me somewhere in the product description that would be super rad. That's it.
- Support and buy from The Salty Pineapple Shop - my official online world filled with tropical and pineapple-inspired designs.
And, of course, cute AF items with my 'Be a Pineapple' quote.
- Download and share these images on your Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.
Feel free to tag me, @katgaskin, in the caption and photo so I can see, like and comment on your post!
For desktop, right-click and 'Save As'. For mobile, hold down on the image and 'Save Image'.
My Pineapple Conclusion:
I love pineapples.
I love eating them, smelling like them, seeing them, wearing them, taking pictures of them, cuddling them -- yes, I'm a proud pineapple weirdo.
Every time I see a pineapple in any form, it serves as a reminder to keep pushing towards my goals, dream bigger, inspire others, be happy and get salty.
I'm truly freakin' grateful.
Finally accepting that I won't ever be credited properly has been challenging -- I admit it.
But it's okay though.
There's SO much more pineapple creativity that I have yet to share with you.
And maybe, if I'm lucky, my words will leave a legacy that will last beyond my Salty Pineapple lifetime.
YESS, KAT! I love that you are sharing this story! The quote is amazing, and you deserve all the credit for it! As soon as I move into my new apartment I’ll be ordering those prints (ant the mug!) :) :) Keep rocking it!