Ikea is aiming to highlight the importance for everyone to create a home where they truly belong, with affordable personal touches, in a new integrated campaign.
Devised by long-term agency Mother, the activity is designed to show that a home can feel strange and unwelcoming, until it is somewhere that reflects who you are.
The retailer’s product range is at the heart of the campaign, with everything designed to create a space that can fit all types of personalities, from affordable storage to house a vinyl collection to a pegboard to display winning trophies.
Launching across the UK and Ireland this week, the activity will feature 20″ and 30″ spots on broadcast TV, VOD, and digital media, and a 60-second version in cinema and in-store.
The ad opens on a family as they move into their new apartment, boxes in hand. As they disperse into their home to unpack, the various elements of the home show they are not unimpressed with the new family, initially rejecting them and making them feel unwelcome. A doormat changes from saying ‘Welcome’ to ‘Who’s this?’ and a painting in the hallway rolls its eyes, while other “gremlins” show their distaste at the family’s possessions.
Despite this, the family continues to unpack, placing pieces that represent themselves around the home. Mum unpacks her vinyls, dad his cooking utensils, while their daughter tries against the odds to enter her new bedroom.
As the family stamps more of their personality on the space, the home’s mood changes. What felt like a strange place begins to feel welcoming. The previously unwelcoming home starts to help them to make it their own. Mum finishes-off organising her collection of vinyls in Ikea shelves, while a plug socket shimmies into reach for the decks.
Looking for the ideal place to display her trophies, the karate-loving daughter is assisted by an Ikea light that illuminates the perfect space on an Ikea pegboard. The once hostile gremlins become helpers to dad, who is preparing a meal for the family to enjoy using Ikea cookware.
As they end their long day of unpacking on the sofa, the voiceover states: “It won’t feel like home, ’til it feels like you. Ikea. The Wonderful Everyday.
Across social media, a three-episode docuseries will be launched. Co-fronted by a psychologist and an Ikea expert, each episode will feature different stories of people looking to make their homes feel more like them.
Working together, the psychologist and expert will identify the challenge faced by each individual – then how home furnishings can solve it to make it a space they truly belong in. The episodes will be hosted on Ikea.com, with inspiration and ideas from the episodes released as content on social media.
Ikea cluster and marketing communications manager Kemi Anthony said: “Where we live is part of who we are, so having a home that reflects our identity really matters. We want to showcase the different ways Ikea can help make home your own, from small touches to bigger revamps, there are products that cater to all personalities and styles.
“Our range is at the heart of this campaign and demonstrates that we design with the needs of real people in mind, no matter what their budget.”
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