To promote the new initiative, the Oslo-based advertising agency Try created a striking advertising campaign that includes a TV spot and posters showing Ikea in litter piles across Norway.

Advertisements highlight Ikea products in the trash heaps, then label them with where they were found, what work needs to be done to get them back into service, and what to do with them. the price of the occasion is against the original.

According to the advertising agency, more than 3 million pieces of furniture are thrown away every year in Norway. Advertisements are unwavering on the destination of this waste: abandoned in the streets, in landfills or on beaches. The scenes are a pretty damning indictment of the waste culture that cheap furniture brands like Ikea have contributed to.

This campaign is part of a new dynamic of sustainable development of the brand however, and it is hoped that the rather depressing and unglamorous images of the advertisements will make consumers think differently about the Ikea products they own.

“Too many of our furniture ends up in the trash, and with this campaign, we wanted to show that they don’t need to,” says Tobias Lien, Marketing Communications Manager at Ikea. “Often the products are perfect or maybe they just need a few small spare parts. To show how little it takes, we picked up a few and gave them a second chance.

To help customers see the long-term value of Ikea products, the brand is offering to buy back furniture that customers no longer need, and will provide free spare parts for furniture to be repaired, which can be ordered online. .

“An important part of our responsibility is to launch new services that help our customers throw less,” said Marketing Director Frode Skage Ullebust. “I have to admit it hurts a bit to see our furniture presented this way, but at the same time I think it’s become a very honest and beautiful way to make people think. “

Credits:
Agency: Try
Creatives: Caroline Riis, Eirik Sørensen
Creators: Jeppe Gjesti, Mats Mæland, Magnus Snickars, Dennis Magnus-Andresen, Tommy Lybekk, Marthe Solli
Graphic design: Elise Eik Ismar
Production company: Aparent
Directors: Kavar Singh, Niels Windfeldt