IKEA – Pee Ad from Ourwork on Vimeo.
It is not, as some on Twitter have described, the end of times. But Ikea might have just won the award for weirdest promotion in history. The Swedish furniture company is currently running a promotional ad for baby furniture that doubles as a pregnancy test. Appearing in Swedish magazine Amelia and designed by Stockholm-based ad agency, Akestam Holst, in collaboration with Mercene Labs, the ad uses the same technology seen in widely distributed pregnancy tests.
Eye-catching? Obviously.
Weird? Most definitely.
Innovative? Overwhelmingly so.
It’s also incredibly abrasive with the leading headline: PEEING ON THIS AD MAY CHANGE YOUR LIFE.
Of course, Ikea is no stranger to tackling challenging topics in promotional materials. The furniture company has used domestic issues like divorce, single parenting, and adoption in an effort to connect with consumers in new and surprising ways. If there’s one thing for sure, it definitely gives definition to the term “experiential marketing.”
And TBH, at least you don’t have to go out and spend $15 on ClearBlue.
No more dollar store pregnancy tests, get over here ikea ad
— GrumpTher (@Ther_panther) January 11, 2018
Hahaha I mean it’s clever, but I wouldn’t want to be the till person that has to run the discount through ? https://t.co/NoFQKXpozF Shoppers encouraged to pee on #IKEA‘s latest advert pic.twitter.com/OdVGDJlCGm
— Kris Makuch (@saltangelblue) January 12, 2018
Ok #IKEA has a catalog with a built-in pregnancy test, all you have to do is pee on it & if you are peggers it reveals how much one of their cribs cost ,either this brilliant marketing or they has lost their minds #WTF pic.twitter.com/sY9LjILgSk
— Sammie (@Hellcat7391) January 12, 2018
