Ikea Crafts an Emotional Ode to Home in Urgent Plea to Stay There

These days, brands and celebrities of all stripes, from Nike and Viacom to sports magazines and even Kevin Bacon, are advising us to practice social distancing and stay home whenever possible. Ikea Spain joins the mix with this heartfelt :30 from McCann Madrid.

Spain ranks among the nations hardest hit by COVID-19, which makes the ad’s approach feel especially moving and memorable.

On screen, diverse folks, young and old, families and single people, work and play in their houses and apartments. Over these images runs evocative text, in the “voice” of home itself.

“Hello, I’m your house. Your home. I’m the place where your children have grown up, where you have celebrated good news, and taken refuge from the bad. I’m the place where you can be yourself. Do you remember when we first met? Come on. Feel me. Smell me. Enjoy me. We can turn everything around. Maybe this is the time to rearrange the furniture, or get our heads in order.”

The kicker: “I am your home, and I’ll be here for you, no matter what.”

Here’s the Spanish-language version:

An Ikea logo and #StayHome tag come at the end.

It’s a quieter, reflective take on all-too-familiar themes from recent weeks, and certainly on point for Ikea, which specializes in home furnishings.

In this age of coronavirus quarantine, it’s comforting to think of our dwellings as partners and friends, ready to provide warmth and shelter, eager to share new experiences and grow together.

“The idea of this ​​campaign was born when the Spanish government announced the immediate closure of schools, as a first measure to mitigate the spread of Covid19,” McCann executive creative director Raquel Martínez tells Muse. That proved to be the first of several “drastic measures that would force people to lock themselves in their houses,” she says.

Client and agency quickly decided “the situation required a change of strategy, and the brand should be empathetic to what was happening,” Martínez says. “At that time, the company had a commercial campaign running in the media and there was no point in continuing with it.”

At the same time, Ikea was forced to close its stores, and McCann’s staff began working from home.

“In a few hours, coordinating ourselves from home and inspired by what we were experiencing, we presented our creative idea to the brand,” Martínez recalls.

The spot was produced last weekend, “and since the restrictions imposed prohibited any shooting … images from a campaign already produced in another region had to be used,” she says.

Given the universality of its message, the agency is adapting the commercial for markets including Canada, Portugal and Italy.

CREDITS

Brand & Product: Ikea – StayHome
Agency: McCann Madrid
Campaign: #StayHome

Creative Concept & Idea: McCann Madrid

Client Team:
Laura Durán
Rafael Jiménez
Catarina Bastos
Pablo Sánchez
Ana Ordoñez
Mar Amador

Agency Team:

Creative Team
Mónica Moro
Raquel Martínez
Fernando Cerezo
Teresa Mesonero
Alejandra De Luis

Account Team
Javier Pascual Elena Rodríguez
Sonsoles San José
Claudia Solano
Alejandra Sierra

Planner
Juan Manuel Ramirez

Production Team
Paloma Adrien
Paula Garcia
Vanessa Pizarro
Elisa Chia

Production
Footage: Developed By Ikea Global
Postproduction: Craft Madrid