Visit Sweden wants to take back Ikea’s product name | Advertising
Adland is used to smart Ikea ads, but what happens when it is the Swedish retailer that becomes the butt of the joke?
This is the prerequisite for the latest Visit Sweden advertisement by Forsman & Bodenfors.
Those who do not speak Swedish may think that Ikea products are just the Swedish words for a product, but in reality its sofas, coffee tables, bookshelves, media storage, door handles and other objects are named after places in Sweden.
And this does not always do the beautiful Scandinavian country justice.
At this place, a Swedish tourist official regrets how an Ikea toilet brush, called Bolmen, is actually a beautiful lake in southwestern Småland.
– For us who work in tourism, this is a bit problematic, she says. “We want people to think about the clear water and the beautiful surroundings … not a water closet that needs to be cleaned.”
Other examples that are mentioned on site are the sofa Ektorp (a beautiful place in the Stockholm archipelago that this reviewer can warmly recommend), the play chair Järfjället (think snow-covered tops) and the dustbin Toftan (fantastic village by a lake).
The creative skillfully and humorously illustrates how one of Sweden’s major export goods, Ikea, has actually cut the names of many beautiful destinations, and wants to take these back to encourage people to visit the country.
It would not be a surprise if Ikea supported this campaign and if there were no further collaborations in the future. Could you imagine in-store pictures of beautiful lakes in the toilet brush section? Tip: they probably have.
But for now, the next time you clean the toilet with a Bolmen – imagine paddling on board in a calm sea environment.
CREDIT
Brand Visit Sweden
Title “Discover the originals”
Agency Forsman & Bodenfors
Director Torbjörn Martin
Production company B-Reel Films