Sweden’s investment in reclaiming IKEA names – “more than one object with which you clean your toilet” | Travel news | Trip
Most people know the name of many scenic places in Sweden. But they may not realize it.
And the country is rebelling.
Bolmen has even launched a new slogan: “Bolmen – more than an IKEA toilet brush”.
Visit Sweden is trying to retrieve the names of its tourist destinations from IKEA.
For years, interested tourists were met by pictures of toilet brushes and rubbish bins when they entered names of tourist destinations in Sweden.
Nils Persson, marketing manager at Visit Sweden, said: “In Sweden, we are proud of IKEA and in a way you can say that they helped us make Swedish places world famous through the names they borrowed for their products.
“Now we want, with warmth and a twinkle in the eye, to show the originals behind the product names and invite the world to discover the whole of Sweden.”
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A new campaign “recycles” the names of 21 picturesque places.
The campaign promotes the “original” places that inspired IKEA’s sofas and towels and “recycles places like lakes, mountains and even an archipelago.
Magnus Gunnarsson, chairman of Smålands Sjörike and member of the municipal council in Ljungby said: “We appreciate that IKEA has named a product our beautiful lake and that Visit Sweden is paying attention to this globally.
“But now we want to show the world that Bolmen is so much more than an object that you clean your toilet with.
“It is an incredibly beautiful place, much loved by us locals.
“We would like to invite the whole world to spend time in our wonderful, unspoiled natural environment, show the same care as we do and enjoy the crystal clear water.”
8. Hemsjö, a village in the Blekinge area (block light)
9. Toftan, a lake in Dalarna (trash can)
10. Mästerby, a historic battlefield on Gotland (a stair stool)
11. Voxnan, a river with waterfalls and rapids in the Hälsingland area (shower shelf)
12. Himleån, ravines in the Halland region (bath towels)
13. Laxviken, a village in Jämtland Härjedalen (cupboard door)
14. Ingatorp, A village where you will find one of Sweden’s oldest wooden buildings, in the Småland region (pull-out table)
15. Misterhult, an archipelago with 2,000 islands near Kalmar in the Småland region (a bamboo lamp)
16. Vrena, a village near the east coast in the Sörmland region (countertop)
17. Björksta, a village near the university city of Uppsala (picture with frame)
18. Norberg, a small town in the Västmanland region (folding table)
19. Askersund, a small town near Örebro in Central Sweden (cupboard door)
20. Rimforsa, a small village in Östergötland in eastern Sweden (workbench)
21. Bodviken, a mountain lake in the High Coast’s UNESCO World Heritage Site in northern Sweden (washbasin)