Back in 2002, Ikea Canada launched an ad with a sad story of a humble desk lamp. The spot, originally directed by Spike Jonze, has now received a sequel full 16 years later. Ikea felt the Lamp’s story desperately needed revisiting, especially since the overall strategy of the brand has changed considerably.
The ‘Lamp 2’ spot continues where the original left off. In the original spot, we watched a story of a simple red desk lamp, discarded by its owner after buying a new one. The lamp just sits there on the sidewalk, in rain, with moody, nostalgic music background that caused viewers to feel for the poor product. All of a sudden, a man enters the scene, ironically stating: “Many of you feel bad for this lamp. That is because you crazy. It has no feelings, and the new one is much better”, which immediately made the ad memorable. Check out the original spot below:
The sequel now revolves around Ikea’s new People and Planet Positive strategy which focuses on eliminating all single-use plastics from its range and restaurant, but also committing to being a completely circular business by 2030. The company pledged to make its products to last-longer, using entirely recyclable and sustainable materials, and it will have programs in place to allow products to have a second-life.
In line with this strategy, the new spot was created, which took the opportunity to tell a new story about Ikea’s product quality and longevity. The spot, according to the company, also wanted to tell a story about the value of people keeping their products longer, loving them longer, and how much better that will be for the world. Check out the new spot here:
The spot was created by the agency Rethink, and directed by Mark Zibert.
