Ikea x Teleman ‘Repeater’ / Mother

Since appointing Mother to its creative account in 2010, Ikea has rolled out an abundance of memorable campaigns. From the agency’s first work under the ‘Happy Inside’ strapline which saw one hundred cats released into its Wembley store, to the introduction of its current ‘The Wonderful Everyday’ slogan, its ad showing the dramatic flight of a flock of T-shirts which managed to make something as mundane as storage resonate; and its recent ‘Ghosts’ spot which made us wonder how a bedsheet can look cooler than us at a house party, this agency partnership has never failed to deliver.

Ikea and Mother’s success continues in its latest work which, instead of a regular ad, comes in the form of a music video for British indie band and BBC 6 Music favourite Teleman. The two-minute-25-second spot follows on from last week’s ‘Ghosts’ TV ad, which encouraged consumers to be a ‘maverick with fabric’ and promoted the retailer’s range of textiles. The spot sees plain white ‘ghosts’ (aka people covered in cotton sheets) quietly enjoying a small gathering, when the more fun ‘ghosts’ turned up in their best party gear (aka Ikea’s colourful and printed fabrics) and crank up the atmosphere.

In the music video, Teleman, alongside a canine mascot, perform their new single Repeater inside a house decorated completely white and beige. Everything from books to house plants are plain and blend into one another. The song begins with only guitar noise and, with each note played, a flash of colour appears on one furnishing accessory in the background. When the full band begin playing together, the scene is lit up in more pattern and colour simultaneously. As the song continues, different colour schemes flicker rapidly across the same room settings, showcasing Ikea’s extensive homeware range. The music builds to its climax and the band themselves start to interchange their positions and outfits, while their poodle companion morphs into various dog breeds. The video ends with the band’s instruments transformed into children’s toys which are then put away in a storage chest. The work was directed by Oscar Hudson at production company Pulse and will run on YouTube as well as the brand’s Instagram page. The spot plays on the idea that both music and textiles can transform your mood.

The new work is accompanied by a fun, online personality test on the Ikea website, which suggests textile products to the user based on the answers to five simple and silly questions such as ‘If you were a pizza, what type of pizza would you be?’ and ‘what kind of party animal are you?’, and happened to provide pretty accurate recommendations.

Ikea’s advertising always seems to hit the right spot and do so effortlessly. Maybe it’s due to the brand’s Scandinavian sentiment. Nordic traits of simplicity, efficiency, good design, innovation and a splash of fairytale-like magic and whimsy all shine through Ikea campaigns. The ‘hygge’ trend may have rubbed off on us (which, OK, hails from neighbouring Denmark) but the Swedish retailer’s ads instil that happy, homely feeling and make us feel good inside. From kitchenware to lighting, beds to cupboards, Ikea always finds a way of making basic homeware more meaningful.

As well great designs which have pushed themselves into the consciousness of high-end designers and Games of Thrones costume designers (see Balenciaga’s blue bag and the Night’s Watch capes), Ikea has also given away baby cribs to mums-to-be, saved people money on their energy bills, and released more than one spot encouraging parents to spend more time with their children (see Oct 2013’s ‘day in the life’ documentary and Nov 2015’s ‘bat, eagle and robot’ spot). The furniture giant’s founder Ingvar Kamprad passed away aged 91 in January this year, but leaves behind a fantastic legacy - a forward-focused brand which continues to raise the bar in terms of social responsibility, style and sentiment.