IKEA & Red Cross: 25m2 SYRIA

Case VideoIKEA & Red Cross 2016 Exhibit the Truth Create Contrast Not-for-Profit & Government McCann Oslo

IKEA Norway, Norwegian Red Cross, and NRK TV-aksjonen sought to raise significant funds and awareness for the Syrian crisis among Norwegian consumers. They needed an innovative way to make the distant conflict feel immediate and personal, driving donations beyond traditional appeals.

Creative Idea

An IKEA showroom became a stark replica of a Syrian home, revealing war's reality.

IKEA transformed a showroom into a 25m² replica of a Syrian home, juxtaposing Western comfort with war-torn reality, using familiar price tags to tell real stories and facilitate donations, effectively making an abstract crisis tangible and driving significant aid.

Here's a fantastic use of in-store media by Ikea to bring the reality of the Syrian crisis home to those enveloped in the comforts of the West—indeed, those right in the middle of shopping for those very comforts. Everyone is familiar with the showrooms in your typical Ikea. But one room in Ikea Slependen, the retailer's flagship store in Norway, was quite unexpected. It's a replica of a real Syrian home—25 square meters of cinder block walls and meager furnishings. Ikea posters and price tags in the space tell the story of a typical Syrian family's plight, including the lack of food, medicine and clean water. The price tags also serve as donation slips, as the stunt is a fundraising effort with the Red Cross, created by ad agency POL. "Having visited Rana and learned how she and her family survive outside Damascus, we wanted to rebuild her home as truthfully as we could," POL art director Snorre Martinsen tells AdFreak. "It would have been easier to just put up wallpaper, but it wouldn't have felt the same. People who had fled war themselves have told us, 'This is how it feels.' 'I remember this.' " The installation was live from Oct. 17-31. It was seen by some 40,000 visitors weekly, and the campaign raised some 22 million euros for the Red Cross' efforts in Syria. "We already had a lot of footage from within Syria, but no matter how emotional it was, nothing got close to the experience of visiting people in a war zone," says Martinsen. "We realized we could give Norwegians that experience. Placing a Syrian home next to all the Scandinavian homes was obviously a brave move from the warehouse, but it made it clearer than any TV commercial how crucial it is to donate and help." CREDITS Clients: NRK TV-aksjonen, Ikea Norway and Norwegian Red Cross Agency: POL - pol.oslo.no Copywriter: Maja Folgerö Art Director: Snorre Martinsen Designers: Andrea Engum, Christian Lauritzen, Ole Jakob Böe Skattum Account Manager: Ina Egelandsdal Account Director: Monika Augustsson Source: http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/ikea-bu... --- Suriyeli Rana’nın evinden modellenen 25 metrekarelik enstalasyon, Norveç’in yıllık bağış toplama etkinliği TV-aksjonen kapsamında hayat bulmuş ve tüm gelirleri Kızıl Haç ile savaş ve çatışma ortamında yaşamaya çalışan insanlara yollanan bir proje: Evlerindeki konforu artırmak amacıyla IKEA’ya gelenleri Suriye’deki evlerin sunamadığı konfora dair bilgilendiren enstalasyonda yer alan fiyat etiketleriyse insanları Suriye’deki koşullardan haberdar ederek onlara Suriyelilere nasıl yardımcı olabileceklerini anlatıyor. 17 – 31 Ekim tarihinde mağazada sergilenen enstalasyon haftada 40 bin kişi tarafından ziyaret edilmiş ve kampanya kapsamında Kızıl Haç’ın Suriye’deki çalışmaları için 22 milyon euro bağış toplanmış. Haber: http://www.mediacatonline.com/25-metr... KÜNYE Reklamverenler : NRK TV-aksjonen, IKEA Norveç ve Kızıl Haç (Norveç) Reklam Ajansı : POL Metin Yazarı : Maja Folgerö Art Direktör : Snorre Martinsen Tasarımcılar : Andrea Engum, Christian Lauritzen, Ole Jakob Böe Skattum Müşteri İlişkileri Ekibi : Ina Egelandsdal, Monika Augustsson https://vimeo.com/190261411Here's a fantastic use of in-store media by Ikea to bring the reality of the Syrian crisis home to those enveloped in the comforts of the West—indeed, those right in the middle of shopping for those very comforts. Everyone is familiar with the showrooms in your typical Ikea. But one room in Ikea Slependen, the retailer's flagship store in Norway, was quite unexpected. It's a replica of a real Syrian home—25 s …

Creative Strategy Deconstructed

Company

IKEA's global brand recognition and unique in-store showroom format, combined with Red Cross's humanitarian mission, credibly delivered a powerful, immersive experience.

Customer

Shoppers felt a comfortable detachment from global crises, yet possessed an underlying empathy and desire to help if the problem felt tangible and immediate.

Culture

A cultural moment of increasing awareness of global humanitarian crises, coupled with a desire for authentic, impactful ways to contribute, made this land.

Company

IKEA's global brand recognition and unique in-store showroom format, combined with Red Cross's humanitarian mission, credibly delivered a powerful, immersive experience.

Strategy:

Leverage familiar environments to dramatically confront comfortable audiences with distant realities, inspiring tangible action.

Customer

Shoppers felt a comfortable detachment from global crises, yet possessed an underlying empathy and desire to help if the problem felt tangible and immediate.

Culture

A cultural moment of increasing awareness of global humanitarian crises, coupled with a desire for authentic, impactful ways to contribute, made this land.

Strategy:

Leverage familiar environments to dramatically confront comfortable audiences with distant realities, inspiring tangible action.

Results

The video states that the campaign was an "unprecedented success for the Red Cross and IKEA." Financial results: - The campaign reached the highest amount ever collected for a single campaign in Norway's history. - Over 22 million Euros were collected. Media and Reach results: - The campaign reached 1.1 million unique users on Facebook. - There were 706,000 interactions on the campaign's Facebook pages. - The campaign was shown on NRK, the Norwegian national broadcaster. - Generated 30 million in earned media. - Was written about in over 50 countries. - Was the number one talked about campaign on Adweek and Mashable. Awards: - The campaign won 3 Grand Prix awards at Cannes Lions. - Won 2 Gold Lions at Cannes Lions. - Won 1 Silver Lion at Cannes Lions. - Won 1 Bronze Lion at Cannes Lions. Total awards: 7 Cannes Lions awards.

22M+

Euros collected

Cannes Lions Grand Prix awards

30M

Earned media value

Strategy Technique

Create Contrast

By placing a stark Syrian home replica directly amidst aspirational Scandinavian showrooms, the campaign dramatically highlighted the disparity. This powerful contrast shocked shoppers into confronting a distant crisis personally.

Explore Technique

Creative Technique

Exhibit the Truth

The campaign meticulously recreated a real Syrian home within an IKEA store. This allowed shoppers to physically experience and confront the harsh realities of war, making the truth undeniable and immediate.

Explore Technique

Craft Breakdown

This campaign's craft is exceptional in its audacious production design and the meticulous execution of an immersive installation, which powerfully subverts a familiar retail environment to convey a profound humanitarian message.

Production DesignExceptional

The painstaking recreation of a war-torn Syrian apartment, down to its authentic details and atmosphere, was crucial in making the installation a believable and emotionally resonant experience for shoppers.

Art DirectionExceptional

The brilliant visual strategy of contrasting IKEA's aspirational aesthetic with the stark reality of the Syrian home, and the subversive adaptation of its iconic price tags, amplifies the campaign's emotional impact.

The campaign's magic truly comes from the seamless synergy between the bold ideamaking and the exceptional production design, which together create a visceral experience, powerfully amplified by strategic art direction and poignant copywriting.