Ikea PAX OOH ‘Storage is Sexy’: Mother waves goodbye

And now the end is near, So they face the final curtain, My friend, they’ll say it clear, they’ll state their case of which they’re certain, they’ve lived a life that’s full, they’ve travelled each and every highway, And more, much more than this, they did it their way…

Yep, after 16 years handling Ikea’s UK and Ireland advertising account, Mother is exiting stage left as VCCP prepares to enter stage right.

We’ve had “Cats”, featuring 100 cats loose in the Wembley store for “Happy Inside”; “The Wonderful Everyday”, the long-standing brand platform; “Silence the Critics”, the 2019 music-driven film featuring a diss track aimed at outdated home décor; “Big Blue Bag”, a giant Frakta bag installation wrapping the Oxford Street store build; and the “Turkey-Sized Meatball” Christmas campaign.

Last week Ikea launched a dating show Storage is Sexy, episodes one and two, in which singles put their wardrobes on display to prove that good organisation could be the key to winning someone’s heart.

This week, Mother and Ikea have unveiled their last joint piece of work: the Storage is Sexy out of home campaign for the PAX wardrobe series.

A series of three posters take the dating show’s premise to the streets. Each shows a PAX wardrobe with its doors flung open, lit like a leading character and standing alone on a carpeted stage, with its contents fully on display. Every wardrobe gets its own colourway and its own online dating style descriptor:

“Tall. Well-built. Great in the bedroom.” “The sexiest word in the bedroom? Customisation.” “Why not slip into something a little more… organised?”

All three sign off with ‘Storage is Sexy’ and the Ikea product and price combo, with posters appearing in locations across the UK, including high-profile special builds.

One LinkedIn, the agency said: “Our last piece of work with Ikea is also our most brazen. Storage is Sexy takes the PAX wardrobe out of the bedroom and puts it on posters across the UK, doors open and everything on show. Mother in London, signing off from a 16-year relationship with Ikea.”

So, what is the consensus around the Decision Marketing office?

Well, naturally, on LinkedIn, the comments section soon filled up, including “you missed out, takes ages to finish”; “goes to pieces when you move out”; “comes with unwanted screws”; “Same structure, same cadence as one of the best print ads ever done twenty years ago for a bra”; and “I hear you about their hang-ups”…

Still, Mother has certainly had an amazing run and over the years they have produced some outstanding work. They will be a hard act to follow. Over to you VCCP…

Decision Marketing Adometer: A ‘Bye Bye Billy Bookcase’ 10 out of 10