IKEA is world famous for its simple, easy to put together products. Pronouncing their names, however, can be a losing battle. That is the premise of these two cinema spots from IKEA. In each film, an IKEA customer builds some IKEA furniture while attempting to pronounce its name correctly. Despite the best efforts of a native Swede to assist, we soon discover that building an item such as a Förhöja, is far easier than saying Förhöja…or is that Fardenfar?

The spots ran in the cinema in the first half of 2018.

In the end not only was everyone entertained but they also got a free Swedish lesson as well.

Let’s face it, nobody goes to the cinema to watch the commercials. To catch people’s attention, we had to be just as entertaining as the film they were about to see. When the ‘Hard to say’ spots were created the length of the films was intentionally left open to avoid the restrictions of working in a fixed timeframe, prioritizing entertainment above format. As well as this, the scripts were also left very open to allow for experimentation and improvisation. This allowed us to get the most humour possible out of each film.

The strategy was simple. To create entertaining and engaging films that would appeal to people across the spectrum and remind them why IKEA is still the best place to go when you need simple to build, stylish furniture.

And since nobody goes to the cinema to watch the commercials we aimed to catch people’s attention by being just as entertaining and engaging as the film they were about to see.

IKEA furniture has become part of popular culture. It’s famous for its simple, classic Swedish design and quirky product names. IKEA wanted to tap into the already strong awareness of the brand to remind people why they love IKEA so much. So, that next time they think about buying some furniture they think of IKEA.