| Ikea's "Unboring" campaign wants to change how people think. "U.S. furniture culture is a bizarre place," says Alex Bogusky, creative director at Crispin Porter + Bogusky. When it comes to furnishings, he claims, "people have a durable-goods mind-set: They have the same number of spouses as coffee tables." In its first TV work for Ikea, the Miami shop is pushing customers toward a fashion mind-set. "People pay $120 for tennis shoes all the time," Bogusky says. "But they don't see their strange, guilt-laden attachments [to furnishings]. We want people to know a nice lamp costs $10-20. There are options." In "Lamp," directed by Spike Jonze, a woman replaces her desk light, leaving it outside in the cold and rain. The object seems oddly human, worthy of pity. In "Moo Cow," directed by Clay Williams, an amorous couple go at it on a table, where a few dishes and a cow creamer stand in the way of hot sex. The woman stares into the eyes of the cow, then shatters it into a million pieces. In both ads, a man with a Swedish accent calls the viewer "crazy" for worrying about the lamp or the cow. "It has no feelings," he says, and the replacement stuff from Ikea is better. "No need to feel guilty," says Bogusky. "It's OK to throw out the lamp Mom gave you 10 years ago." |
