3D billboards in NYC’s Times Square famously hype movies, cars, video games and what all with maximum flash and action. Such approaches are far from restful.

Ikea takes the opposite approach in its latest video installation from Ogilvy U.S. We get a 15-second bedroom scene, on a continuous loop, suspended 30 feet in the air.

For those outside Manhattan, there’s a :30, perfect for viewing in bed:

Venezuelan artist Yarge provides the poppy soundtrack. England and Spanish versions of the commercial will run across TV, digital and social media. 

Ikea says the work, dubbed “The Place to Be,” taps into feelings of JOMO (the joy of missing out).

Here, Ikea empathizes with folks who long to burrow beneath the covers for a revitalizing respite from our overstimulating world.

U.S. communications manager Christine Whitehawk describes the initiative as a lifestyle play (familiar territory for the brand).

“We are on a mission to create a better everyday life for the many people, and quality sleep has a key impact on our physical and mental wellness,” Whitehawk says. “We want to focus on how we can help people furnish their homes for better sleep through our six Ikea Sleep Essentials: comfort, light, temperature, sound, air quality and decluttering.”

“Our sleep campaign showcases how Ikea can be your ultimate destination for creating a restful, stylish and budget-friendly space.”

Director Alan Bibby and VFX studio Mathematic helped develop the billboard. Joshua Kissi directed the commercial.

Woodgreen has seen a 62 percent rise in abandoned pets, along with many owners looking to give up their pets due to financial hardship. Last year, the charity helped more than 8,800 pets.

“At Ikea, we believe that pets are family,” says Michaela Quinlan, company spokesperson. “Our goal was to develop a collection of products that our cats and dogs love and that their human parents can feel good about and truly enjoy having as part of their home. We hope this partnership not only raises awareness of adoptions but also provides solutions and inspiration of how to create a comfortable living space for furry companions.”

Items from the collection can be purchased in-store and online, and include items tied to eating, sleeping, playing and hiding—the necessities for all cats and dogs.

Click images to enlarge:

Ingo Hamburg created the campaign, which breaks this week across print and social in Egypt, Oman, Qatar and the UAE.

“Nowadays, pets are members of our homes,” creative director Fernando Montero tells Muse. “We believe that the inspiration for this campaign came from the experiences that some of our creatives had every day with their pets.”

“When viewers watch our ads, we hope that they see themselves reflected in these everyday situations, especially if they’re pet parents,” Montero says. “We want them to feel that if something breaks, it is not a big problem, especially if you have affordable Ikea products at home.”

They could just get rid of the animals, right? Kidding, of course. That pillow probably tore itself apart.

“Capturing scenes with animals is always a big challenge,” he says. “You can never predict what will happen or how the animal will behave when you turn the camera on. That’s why during the shooting, we prioritized having only the photographer, the director and the owner of the pet on the set. So that the animal would feel at home. We had a very patient approach, ensuring that the animals felt comfortable and safe.”

Pampered divas, all of them.

“One memorable example is our experience with the mischievous cat featured in the scene with the plant pot. He had quite a playful personality that led him to break even other props on set. This meant that our team of set art directors had to prepare the set again, several times.”

So, every house can be a playhouse sometimes, a space for fun and fulfillment, offering respite from the stressful world.

That approach feels basic yet timeless, to say the least. Such strategy probably makes sense for a  diverse, mainstream audience based on Ikea data that shows:

•  60 percent of people feel positive about their current life at home.
•  52 percent say home is their favorite place.
•  40 percent are worried about household finances and disposable income.

So, maybe hold off on buying another PAX Wardrobe, save a few bucks?

Joking, of course. Some wags might also suggest that trying to assemble Ikea furniture won’t bring you much joy. Everyone’s a comedian.

The campaign attempts to “elevate the role of the home from that of mere container of our lives to that of enabler of our dreams,” Emiliano González De Pietri, CCO at McCann Worldgroup Spain.

In coming weeks, the initiative will expand to the U.S., U.K., and markets across Europe and Asia.

“Move to a Better Christmas,” by McCann for Ikea Spain, depicts a family organizing a complex, multilingual holiday schedule that feels like a cross between the Met Gala’s seating chart and a royal wedding. It’s not fun to watch, and that’s the point. “What if less Christmas was more Christmas?” the work wonders. It stems from the insight that 50 percent of Spaniards feel stressed about yuletide planning.

To promote its Double and Triple Burgers, McDonald’s and DDB in Romania partnered with standup comedian Mihai Bobonete to make “Whispered Temptation.” A guy realizes more is, well, more thanks to McD’s Doubles and Triples, so he tries applying this knowledge to other parts of his life. Why not ask for double the salary? Things don’t go as well as hoped.

More McD’s here, this time from Nord DDB. The brand promoted its McDelivery service in Norway by creating outdoor ads featuring takeaway paper bags hand-cut into classic Norwegian apartment building styles.

Meanwhile, in Sweden, Nord DDB Stockholm has given McDonald’s Big Mac an autograph. The entire history of robotics and AI has led us here—to a hamburger that can sign things, and whose signature was informed by 256,000 fans. So glad we were alive for this.

In France, insurance brand Axa and Publicis Conseil depict police dogs and other emergency workers relaxing on the outskirts of a feasting world. In one instance, a firefighter hears an alarm and runs … for his baked goods. The ad closes with a man who unplugs his Christmas lights before watering his illuminated tree. All this is to say, staying safe is the best gift you can offer on-call workers. (This also means pointing the champagne away from you, and others, when opening it. Seriously. That’s how a lot of New Years emergency room visits start.)

More lotto love, this time from the Dutch State Lottery. Created by TBWANeboko, “Believe In Luck” follows a fellow who quantum-leaps through a future with a woman he hasn’t met. Things end with one of fortune’s fave tricks: He buys a lotto ticket, then is jostled by … well, you know. The ticket flies out of his hand and in the opposite direction, leaving him with a choice to make: Love or riches? Both are only potentials. What’ll you gamble for?

A googly-eyed Rembrandt portrait, measuring 286m2, has gone up in London to promote the London Mural Festival. The latter’s happening in August next year, and the mural—where modern insouciance meets the historical, much like the very art of paintng on old walls—was hand-crafted by Global Street Art, which reinvests profits into community initiatives. For the 2020 London Mural Festival, and in the midst of Covid, the ad firm produced murals by over 200 artists, across 75 different sites in 13 London boroughs.

This isn’t technically European. It’s by Wieden+Kennedy São Paulo for Sea Shepherd Brazil. The music video was produced by Fromm, a British studio, which … okay, is also not European. But wait! Megadeth drummer Dirk Verbeuren is Belgian, and he’s involved, so we’re allowing it. Guess what this is? It’s a heavy metal band, created to raise awareness about heavy metal contamination in the sea.

You can’t work in advertising if you’re not a sucker for the occasional pun. Plus, this video is so distressingly, toxically, glamrockishly pretty, it’s irresistible. 

Happy holidays, all. See you on the other side. We wish you so much beauty.

In Aldi France’s “Christmas Before Christmas,” TBWAParis gives us a Santa we’ve never seen. He doesn’t live in a palace with elves, perpetually catering to the fantasies of children. This guy has a chic winter home, plays vinyls and doesn’t think about work off the clock. In this tale, he pulls a classic freelancer move, delivering gifts a day early so he can throw a Christmas Eve dinner bash (with ingredients sourced at Aldi). This story continues the brand’s modernized fairy tale vibe and reinforces its “fresh local produce” focus.

For the city of Hamburg, Jung von Matt Sports leveraged live team grouping draws for the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament. (Hamburg is among 10 cities where matches will be held in Germany, the host nation, next year.) Using huge shipping containers, the agency set up a 40-foot-high installation, dubbed “The Final Draw,” that replicated the actual draw in real-time. This required 25 containers, 12 forklifts and 70 port workers to accomplish. It was simulcast at Elbe Philharmonic Hall, and kicked off a larger campaign titled “Hamburg. Great Things Start Here.”

French NGO Terre de Liens depicts a woman living in a space shuttle, eating holographic food. It ends with her finding terra nova: The land we’re still on. Created by agency Strike, “Come Back Down to Earth” is designed to make the world of agriculture more appealing. In France, 200 farms vanish weekly, and 50,000 hectares of fertile land are paved over each year. One in three farmers will retire in 10 years without replacements. The ad marks 20 years of agricultural preservation for Terre de Liens, and arrives in the lee of a new law dubbed PLOAA, designed to trigger generational renewal in agriculture, partly by making sector jobs more attractive.

By now we’ve all heard that Ikea U.K. and Mother London have launched a limited edition turkey-sized meatball, “the ultimate Christmas dinner showstopper.” (It is not mammoth, but rather mostly chicken.) At over 9 pounds, the meatball comes boxed, accompanied by lingonberry jam and creamy sauce. You can either win one on Ikea’s social media or wait until Dec. 11 and hunt one down. For the herbivores (’cause you know this is not what PETA meant when it said “don’t eat turkey”), Ikea’s got a Veggieball Christmas Tree kit, too. 

Lack of dog blood donors is a problem for vets. Who knew? For client Bâtard (yes, “bastard”), a quarterly lifestyle dog-lovers magazine in France, We Are Social launched #BatardDonneur, whose premise is simple: When people Instagram dog-selfies with that hashtag, and include zip codes, local vets seeking blood can add those doggos to a volunteer donor database. 

“Long live the earth.” We hear that, and it’s a restful way to wrap the week. The ad in question, “An Homage to the Soil,” is for Swedish agricultural coop Lantmännen and makes use of BBC Green Planet cameraman Tim Shepherd, whose oeuvre shines here. The campaign acts as a gentle reminder that Earth is our source of food and life, and we need to take care of the soil for future generations. Work by Nord DDB.

Billed as a 2024 spring fashion essential in a satirical post @Ikeauk, the faux fashion must was created to poke fun at Balenciaga’s uber expensive—and absolutely real—Towel Skirt:

It’s part of the famously over-the-top luxury fashion house’s Spring 24 collection. The model walking a dog who steps into the street at 3:18 in the above video is wearing one. The unisex Towel Skirt “in beige terry cotton” is available for pre-order, priced at $925.

Ikea’s lookalike costs $9.99.

Eager to replicate this look? You could also simply wrap any old towel around your midriff. A lot of people are doing this for fun on social media, giving the brand skirmish extra legs:

@michelleheart7 Balenciaga Towel Skirt ? Yes or No?? #956 #rgv #michelleheartmua #trending #balenciaga ♬ Balenciaga

Ikea’s towel troll isn’t the first time the brand has tangled with Balenciaga. 

In 2017, the brand released the Arena, an extra-large tote bag. Constructed of wrinkled and glazed blue leather, the item cost $2,145—and closely resembled Ikea’s iconic FRAKTA totes that sell for under a buck.

At the time, Ikea’s agency ACNE responded with a clever print ad that showed consumers how to identify an authentic FRAKTA. Among the clues: a 99-cent price tag.

Just in time for Halloween, Ikea’s dropped “Monsters Not Included” by Ogilvy’s Berlin and U.K. offices. It’s unfussy, making good use of lighting—and the anxiety-inducing absence of illumination—not to mention the tweaky or eerily hollow instrumentals that lead to jump scares.

The first ad in the set is a promo for the Släkt bedframe … though we wouldn’t mind copping one of those soothing bubble lamps, too:

The spot second is for the Småstad wardrobe:

We like the comedic tension here, assuaging fears even as it stokes them. As a responsible company, Ikea can pretty much only promise that monsters don’t come with the furniture. Once it’s at your house, though…

Just keep a nightlight handy. 

“Monsters Not Included” went live in Germany and the U.K. this month. The films are supported by outdoor and print. One of the latter, for Majgull curtains, appears below.

CREDITS

Chief Creative Officer (EMEA): Dr. Stephan Vogel
Chief Creative Officer (Germany): Dora Osinde
Global Executive Creative Director (UK): Daniel Fisher
Executive Creative Director (Germany): Felipe Galiano, Matt Longstaff
Global Creative Director (UK): Juliana Paracencio
Senior Copywriter (Germany): Rafael Quintal
Senior Art Director (Germany): Cheryl Lee
Senior Designer (UK): Laurence Blake
Senior Arabic Writer (UAE): Karim Sherif
Client Service Director (Germany): Melina Boelen
Hogarth Post Production Executive Producer (Germany): Meike Sinemus
Video Editor (Germany): Dominik Bull

Production Company: Flying Eye Studio
Director: Marcello Amora

Music: DaHouse
Music Supervisor: Wonder Bettin, Lucas Mayer, Silvio Erne
SFX: Wonder Bettin
Executive Producer: Cassiano Derenji

Color Grading: Basis Berlin
Colorist: Pippo Color

Welcome to this week’s Eurovisions. We have a confession: There aren’t any hot cross buns in here, just cinnamon rolls. But they’re also kinda pretending to be something they’re not. In Åkestam Holst’s work for Swedish convenience store Pressbyrån, cinnamon buns (or “kanelbulle” in Swedish) are punted like luxury perfume. “Needless to say, we are not that good at French,” says the agency’s Henrik Billing.

Fun facts: Cinnamon rolls are Sweden’s fave pastry. They even have their own special day. Apparently much of the collateral for this work’s been stolen throughout major cities. Is it the weird French? The love of cinnamon rolls? The sparkly lady? We’ll never know, but the brand and agency call it “equally confusing and flattering.”

Last kiss goodbye from Paris Fashion Week: Christian Dior accompanies actress Souheila Yacoub ahead of her red carpet appearance for the Venice International Film Festival. She’s wearing a princessy but punk dress by the fashion house’s Maria Grazia Chiuri. This is mostly an indulgent view of Venice’s historic canals, which have become slightly less accessible.

Self-effacing, or self-defacing? Ikea Norway’s “Life is Not a Catalog” spent the past month making waves in its home country, and is doing victory laps through English-speaking ad publications. The work depicts aesthetic homescapes sullied by pee, vomit and parties. (Kinda feels like a documentary.) A nice reminder that Ikea products are backdrops and supports for life, which takes precedence. Ikea’s spent years honing that message. Below is “Puke.”

Netflix France and agency Jellyfish promote the return of Lupin, a series about a gentleman burglar, with out-of-home ads that look like luxury jewelry promotions. Except all the jewelry is missing.

Meta tapped BETC Paris to create an ad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France. “Passion Is Meant to Be Shared” leverages cartoony social network representations of every country, like a wallaby for Australia and a shamrock for Ireland. France’s is a rooster, which you’ll see plenty of in this work. 

More from BETC Paris: For a client called Morning, which rethinks corporate spaces with collaboration at the center, the agency revisited stock imagery of offices.

To plug Icelandair’s stopover offering—where people can book stops in Iceland between European and North American destinations—agencies Kubbco and Hvíta Húsið conceived “The Polite Tourist Bouncer.” The premise is that the stopover thing is so popular that people aren’t catching their connecting flights, so a bouncer is needed. Imagine if ICE were just one guy and a cute dog, and all those naughty “overstayers” weren’t treated like potential illegal immigrants, and Europe weren’t in the middle of a migrant crisis. Fun! Absolutely no notes.

With help from VCCP London, Domino’s revels in tearing loved ones apart. Sidenote: Apparently pizza boxes are awful? We are not experts on this topic.

BBH London supersized women for the new season of Barclay’s Women’s Super League. 

Responding to EU scrutiny around data gathering and sales (which is becoming an existential issue), Meta’s proposed charging EU citizens something like $17 a month for Facebook and Instagram experiences that don’t sell data. That’s pricier than your average OTT, and doesn’t even include linked accounts. (Of note: EU residents never even got access to the short-lived Threads because it failed to comply with data protection laws, indicating policymakers are increasingly confident that unfettered access to social networks is less important to people than once believed. Many EU countries have banned Google Analytics, unthinkable a handful of years ago.)

We’ll wrap with something weird, in the spirit of everything being weird now. Prettybird’s Sophie Muller recently directed the music video for “Mosquito” by PinkPantheress. It’s opulent and pretty, an escapist story about girlfriends going no-holds-barred shopping in London. Commercial catnip, very Gossip Girl, lots of brand-dropping. Amidst it all, PinkPantheress persists in carrying what appears to be a clay pigeon. (A Nikola Tesla reference? Probably not.)