Fresh N’ Clean - Why IKEA Have Won The Christmas Ad Wars...

Is it that time of year already?

You know the one. When retailers tug on your heartstrings by unleashing a cavalcade of emotional porn, designed only to get you to purchase their products. Cynical tactics which beckons in the festive season by prompting a deluge of over-spending.

This year, John Lewis have given us a dopey dragon whose innate arsonism is intended to evoke feelings of sympathy and, presumably, acts of largesse. Aldi have roped Robbie Williams into voicing a singing carrot that isn’t afraid to bastardise Let Me Entertain You if it means evading the clutches of Peaky Blinders-inspired Brussells sprouts.

All a bit of fun I suppose.

But have a think about how much creative agencies get paid to come up with these fitfully entertaining but not at all original concepts. We’re probably talking millions. It’s enough to make anyone depressed, especially if you’re insipidly munching on couscous salad in the work canteen like me.

So, a word of praise for IKEA. The clever Swedes have risen above the drudgery of wintertime adverts to deliver a truly original, borderline genius campaign. They’ve enlisted grime legend D Double E to front their first-ever Christmas campaign, which focuses on a young family being barracked by their household ornaments for the tired state of their abode. It’s themed to the tune of an original track, Fresh N Clean (Silence the Critics), which is ripe with D Double’s unique wit and distinctive delivery.

More importantly, it’s genuinely hilarious. I belly-laughed when I first saw it. This is what adverts should do. Capture the imagination and increase brand sentiment.

IKEA’s campaign of course has the same end game as all its competitors – sell shit at inflated prices. I get that, but I think they deserve praise for looking to the counterculture and coming up with something a little more distinctive than the norm.

Why not check it out for yourself? It might even get you in the festive spirit.

Budubupbup.

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