Dentsu Impact shows how IKEA products talk for themselves

The IKEA store launch in Hitec City, Hyderabad, has been one of the most talked about launches in recent times. A much-anticipated event, the store launch was preceded by the brand’s first ever communication for the Indian market, created by Dentsu Impact the creative agency from the Dentsu Aegis Network. The launch also saw some interesting on-ground activations that got people talking.

One may think that such a high impact launch would be followed by a period of quiet from the brand. But not so in the case of IKEA. The brand has now released a series of new films on TV & digital to bring to life some hero products from the brand. Quite literally! Every film has one main hero – an IKEA product itself, and well it is this hero that does all the talking. The treatment is a completely fresh one and the films are nothing like a typical product-centric ad you may imagine. The films are all a part of a series and the team promises we will see something fresh in every film, with a different product playing a different character.

Speaking about the films, Ulf Smedberg, Country Marketing Manager, IKEA India said, “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-dramatize 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 has so far been very positive, with people finding them to be surprising yet distinctively IKEA.”

Megha Jain Sadhwani, Senior Vice President, Dentsu Impact adds, “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 themselves, 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 an audience to enjoy the storytelling and the magic of each product.”

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 ensure their suitability to the digital medium, making them the kind of content people want to engage with.”

The films have been released on TV in Hyderabad and are available on the IKEA Facebook page.