2022 Winners & Shortlists

TIME TO REDECORATE

Short List
BrandIKEA
Product/ServiceIKEA SALE
EntrantLEO BURNETT Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA
CategoryPosters
Idea Creation LEO BURNETT Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA
Media Placement STARCOM Jeddah, SAUDI ARABIA
Production NOJARA PRODUCTIONS Cairo, EGYPT

Background

Have you ever been inside a house that hasn’t been refurbished, in Saudi or Bahrain? It’s like going back in time. it’s sentimental, it’s floral, it’s kitsch, baroque, it’s retro, it’s shabby chic and it’s everywhere, because they are all sentimental and they’re holding on to memories, handed down in the shape of furniture. The old furniture style shows how Saudis used to furnish their houses back in the days, by commissioning a carpenter that has a few templates that are very French baroque or retro, or sometimes a mix and match, and that’s the style of all big houses of parents and grand-parents. And the more they spend time with their inherited furniture, the more it grows on them and the less they feel the need to change it. IKEA wanted to have a 70% sale and we knew this was what we needed to tackle.

Describe the creative idea (40% of vote)

At IKEA, we created disruptive, playful, colorful, rich visuals that illustrate exactly how, when you own furniture for too long, well, you start blending into it. literally. Because fashion taste gets influenced by furniture colors. And we filled the visuals with small details that reward the viewer’s attention. We used these visuals to promote a 70% IKEA sale without using a single IKEA product or a discount icon. The campaign is made of 3 visuals: Dining Room, Living Room and Bedroom. The BEDROOM visual depicts a grown woman, completely blended into her childhood bedroom, that still has all her childhood memorabilia and furniture. The LIVING ROOM visual depicts a woman, completely blended among the hand me down furniture that she became half woman, half chandelier. The DINING ROOM visual depicts a family having dinner, completely blended with the settings around them, drapes, dishes and all.

Describe the execution (40% of vote)

We let the Saudi and Bahrainis do the art direction themselves. We visited 50 homes, camera in hand and collected real visual insights that we then compiled into real mood boards from real houses. And these mood boards became our photography brief. And then, all the set props were scouted and brought from thrift shops, garage sales and classified websites. Since all the props needed were old, used and second hand, all the set props were scouted and brought from thrift shops, garage sales and classified websites. So, we saved a lot on props and yet had a shoot that was made of thousands of props. And since the casts’ faces were covered, no acting skills were required. So, we also saved on actors. We strategically placed the visuals on shopping mall mupis, to interrupt their usual shopping journey that stems from their old taste.

List the results (20% of vote)

12.75M+ impressions 3.6M+ in reach 2.1M+ in engagement 277k+ link clicks, directing to the website 13% total sales contribution 1 newspaper cover nomination: Newspapers and magazine adopted the visuals organically on their own and as we speak, Luerzer's Archive are considering using them as their next issue's cover and have put them to a public vote on their instagram channels. 1 big market disruption: For the first time ever, we had an IKEA furniture sale ad, showing zero IKEA furniture. Actually, it was the first IKEA ad with more than 100 pieces of furniture NOT from IKEA. And we were able to host an IKEA sale with no sale of percentage or discount stickers in the ad. That’s real market disruption for the whole furniture category.

Credits

Name Company Role
Mohammed Bahmishan Publicis communications Ideation
Mohammed Sehly Leo Burnett Executive Creative Director
Ahmed Othman Photographer Photography
Thamer Farsi Publicis Communications Support
Samir Antoun Leo burnett Support
Makram Khatib Leo Burnett Support
Imad Jurdi Leo Burnett Support