Ikea Enters The Playing Field
In line with the much-awaited launch of the first IKEA store in Hitec City, Hyderabad, the brand released a series of new ad films on TV & digital. The launch was preceded by the brand’s first ever communication for the Indian market, created by Dentsu Impact, the creative agency from Dentsu Aegis Network.
Doing away with the norms of a product-centric ad, these films let the products do all the talking, with a different product playing a different character in each film.
Explains Ulf Smedberg, Country Marketing Manager, IKEA India, “We at IKEA saw the need early on to find an emotional connection with consumers and their future relationship with our range. In order to de-dramatise and make parts of our range more attractive, inspiring yet even human, we created our new communication campaign which we internally call ‘Talking products’. In this series of short films, we let some iconic products speak and express their personality, in a fun and engaging way. The reaction so far been very positive, with people finding them to be surprising yet distinctively IKEA.”
Adds Megha Jain Sadhwani, Senior Vice President, Dentsu Impact, “The reason why IKEA is the world’s most loved Swedish home furnishing brand is its products, they are the heroes that make this brand what it is. The intent behind this series of films is to introduce these heroes to the Indian audience in a typical IKEA style — simple & playful, and what better way to do this than to let the products do the talking, literally!”
Amish Sabharwal, Creative Head, Dentsu Impact Bangalore spoke about the creative concept behind these films and said, “IKEA is known for great creative formats across the globe. This is our India attempt to add to that stellar reservoir. The products of IKEA are so intuitive, practical and magical that they deserve to be stars of every commercial, who needs celebrities?! That’s what we did. Each object has their own character, their own quirk, their own voice and they are unlike any other object you get in the market. The idea is to get audience to enjoy the storytelling.”
Krittika Chakraborty, Planning Head, Dentsu Impact Bangalore explained the strategic intent behind the films. “These films exemplify the IKEA brand tonality which is so well-recognized and loved the world over. And the slight edge and playfulness of their execution ensures their suitability to the digital medium, making them the kind of content people want to engage with.”
The ad films have been released on TV in Hyderabad and on the IKEA Facebook page.
