Ikea Turns Actual Toronto Homes Into Showroom Displays

Everything’s an ad these days. Even private homes in Toronto.

To promote its new store at Yonge and Gerrard Streets, Ikea transformed the windows of several nearby apartments and condos into product displays, complete with signage and the slogan, “Made for Downtown Living.”

The clip below offers glimpses into these dressed-up dwellings. They serve as live-action billboards, complete with homeowners kicking back or WFH while using products sold at Ikea.

“Our out-of-home campaigns always feature inspiring furniture layouts in lifestyle images,” explains Jordan Sequeira, marketing campaign leader at Ikea Canada. “But this is the first time we have replaced those images with real living spaces, decorated with Ikea products and populated with real people.”

Locations for the “Window Shopping” activation included Danforth Ave., Queen Street West, the Distillery District, Roncesvalles and Cedarvale. At press time, only one house (in the photo at the top of this story) remains an active Ikea showroom.

“We used our personal network and location scouts to find real spaces people live in,” says Geoff Battle, associate creative director at Rethink, which developed the campaign. “We chose homes to represent different neighborhoods and lifestyles across the city.”

Kragsta coffee tables, Gradvis vases and Fjallbo laptop stations were among the items displayed. Alas, the homeowners don’t get to keep the furnishings. Nor those snazzy Ikea signs decorating their houses. Presumably.

But … how would that stuff look in the subway? That’s what we want to know!

CREDITS

Title: “Window Shopping”
Client: Ikea Canada
Chief Creative Officer: Aaron Starkman
Head of Art & Creative Director: Joel Holtby
Creative Director: Zachary Bautista
Associate Creative Director: Geoff Baille
Copywriter: Geoff Baille
Art Director: Zachary Bautista
Chief Strategy Officer: Sean McDonald
Strategy Director: Shereen Ladha
Group Account Director: Kiara Wilson
Account Director: Megan Christopher
Account Manager: Erica Francis
Account Manager: Chaityadeep Singh Mainee
Senior Integrated Producer: Terri Winter
Production House: Undivided Creative Inc.
Director: Jeremy Thompson
Director of Photography: Jeremy Thompson
Production House Producer: Christa Lindsay
Studio Artist: Brad Kumar, Todd Bennett, Justin Chan, Stephanie Sherwood, Nabil
Editor: Tyler Erdelac
Colour / VFX: Hardave Grewal, Dan Mccarthy
Audio House: Vapor Music
Music Director: Ted Rosnick
Audio Producer: Kailee Nowosad
Casting: Groundglass Casting (hero), Faces and Places Talent Agency (background)
Date of First Appearance: May 26, 2022

Client:
Johanna Andrén, Head of Marketing, Ikea Canada
Jordan Sequeira,  Country Marketing Campaign Leader, Ikea Canada
Brooke Lougheed, Country Interior Design Leader, Ikea Canada
Lisa Huie, Public Relations Leader, Ikea Canada

Media: Carat
Tracey Cronin, Account Director
Kevin Martins, Digital Performance Strategist