Ask a random Belgian to think of an “IKEA-key” and he’ll see what you’re talking about.

Made for the only purpose of driving bolts with hexagonal sockets in their heads, the – officially titled – ‘allen key’ serves as an indispensable part in the journey of building IKEA furniture. It’s the key that brings all the pieces together, turning anonymous flat packs into personal household items. Consequently, the key has grown to become an unofficial symbol for the brand.

To mark the launch of IKEA’s first bike, we linked the iconic power of this symbol to an equally essential part of a bike: the pedals. It resulted in a creative print ad with only 3 objects in 1 picture, but lots of meaning and instant understanding implied. In support of this, the illustration of the ad was inspired by the equally iconic IKEA-styled assembly instructions.