2022 Winners & Shortlists

Cultural / Context information for the jury

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, it’s 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.

Tell the jury about the art direction.

At IKEA, we created 3 disruptive, playful 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 details that reward the viewer’s attention. We used them to promote a 70% sale without using a single IKEA product or a discount icon. The DINING ROOM visual transports the viewers in a shabby chic land before there was electricity, where candle light and ancient drapes swallowed rooms. It depicts a family having dinner, completely blended with the settings around them. We let the consumers do the art direction themselves. We visited 50 homes and collected real visual insights that we then compiled into mood boards from real houses. Which became our photography brief. All the set props were scouted from thrift shops, garage sales and classified websites.