Flat pack music

Ikea dances out of the closet

What?: Forsman & Bodenfors has created a quirky new Ikea campaign in Sweden to promote the ubiquitous furniture retailer. The new website (translated as ‘In The Wardrobe’) utilises stop-motion video footage of a number of eccentric characters in a number of different furnished Ikea room settings. The characters, which range from mustachioed businessmen in their underwear to Mexican wrestlers and ballet dancers, twist and turn about the rooms as you select various items for them to collect and interact with.

The speed and timing of the characters’ movement is dependent on the type of music track you select to accompany the visuals. There is a drop down list to select from, plus you can upload your own MP3 or use a microphone to see them react to your own voice.

So what?: Ikea has a knack for creating engaging sites, something it manages to do without straying from its core products. Its strong market position means it can avoid straightforward ‘wooden’ campaigns and create something with real artistic value. This venture is certainly quirky – but perhaps too quirky. Choosing your own soundtrack is all well and good, but what is the driver to actually want to spend time with these eccentric characters? Much like getting your furniture home, the trick is in putting it all together in a way that works.

“This is a very bizarre campaign. In principle it’s a novel idea, and has the potential to make a great television advertising campaign, but as a website it quickly loses the viewer to a state of information overload.”
Holly Davis, Marketing Executive, Datz

http://kominigarderoben.se/