Who doesn’t enjoy a day trip to IKEA to try the infamous Swedish meatballs (with that delicious red cranberry sauce) whilst cramming as much flatpack furniture into a car or van as possible?
In this blog we are going to explore 4 hilarious and witty marketing campaigns that IKEA ran to drive growth.
Pregnancy tests
Did you know IKEA used pregnancy tests in one of their marketing campaigns?
IKEA caught the attention of a Swedish publication readers with a strip at the bottom of an ad which functioned like at-home pregnancy tests. It encouraged female readers to pee on the strip to find if they were pregnant or not. It then further provided a 50% discount code to expecting mothers for IKEA Cribs and cots.
Free moving boxes for ‘moving day’
Every July 1st in Quebec nearly a quarter of a million people move on the same day. It’s called Moving Day, and it makes moving boxes a scarce commodity. To help out, drive sales and drive brand awareness IKEA posted thousands of free, branded moving boxes all over the city.
The boxes were also printed with suggestions on how they could be used as temporary furniture. That is, until people used the attached coupon to pick up the real thing from IKEA.
An Australian Wedding
IKEA did a Facebook campaign in which people had to compete to get married in an IKEA store!
Over 500 people applied and an IKEA obsessed couple called Chad & Lynne got married in the Sydney store with their friends and family but also 80 random IKEA fans.
The ceremony and wedding was decorated using IKEA products promoting the idea that you can create style and luxury with the affordable and inspirational IKEA product range.
Valentines Day Ad
‘To celebrate valentine’s day IKEA is offering parents-to-be a free cot if your baby is born on 14th November 2023. Limit of one cot per baby. Proof of birth must be provided.
Happy valentines day (see you in 9 months)’
Need we say anymore about this witty advert that IKEA (Australia) ran in 2023? We think it beautifully summarises their creativity and laughter focused marketing campaigns.
How do these campaigns drive growth though?
You don’t need to be a global giant like IKEA to start producing good content or marketing your business more effectively.
Many people will just view these IKEA campaigns as ‘funny’ or ‘bold’ but powerful marketing campaigns like the ones above can do a lot more than just make people laugh;
- Increase brand awareness
- Drive footfall
- Increase online sales
- Increase branded search (SEO)
- Increase non-branded search (SEO / Backlinks / PR)
- And a lot more!
What is the funniest marketing campaign you have seen?
