Ikea Canada Stages 'The 12 Days of Christmas' in Somebody's House

15 live animals and birds appear for holiday chaos

Leaping lords, milking maids and French hens make great Christmas presents, according to a certain carol.

But when they show up in a modern dwelling, its owners soon wish they’d gifted with Ikea instead.

We’re told that 15 animals, including six kinds of birds, appeared. And yes, handlers were on set to make sure the critters were treated with kindness. Some CGI was used for the geese and swans, which are notoriously ill tempered.

“With a holiday ad, you want to stay true to the festive spirit without blending into a sea of sameness. So, we put a chaotic spin on a holiday classic,” says Geoff Baille, partner and GCD at Rethink, which crafted the campaign.

“We had never worked with so many animals before, so this project was a new and exciting challenge,” he tells Muse. “Going into any shoot, you have a vision of how you want the final product to look. But when you’re working with six kinds of birds, you quickly learn that not everything can be perfectly controlled. We embraced chaos as part of the idea, so we let the birds and cows and goats improvise.”

The “12 Days” song itself—a fresh version developed with Tyson Kuteyi at Grayson Music—”keeps the spot grounded amid the chaos,” Baille says.

“The music mirrored the escalating mayhem on screen. So, we sped it up, layered instruments and let the whole thing unravel into the sound of
an orchestra coming apart—all while we’re seeing the house fill up.

J.J. Adler directed the film, which launched today.