IKEA Skewers Apple's High-Minded Marketing in Hilarious Viral Sketch
'It's not a digital book, or an ebook,' an IKEA exec describes the company's forthcoming catalogue in reverent tones evoking Apple's lead designer Jony Ive. 'It's a bookbook.'
By Geoff Weiss •
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Swedish furniture giant Ikea is taking a page out of Apple's high-minded marketing playbook with a satirical video sketch that has now gone viral.
The video, entitled "Experience the power of a bookbook,' was created in promotion of IKEA's 2015 catalogue for Singapore and Malaysia. However, in presenting the time-honored catalogue as if it were one of Apple's solemn and noble product unveilings, the spot strikes a hilarious tone that has since resonated with over 3 million viewers on YouTube.
"Content comes preinstalled via 328 high-definition pages," says IKEA's "chief design guru,' Jorgen Eghammer, speaking with a dreamy quietude in front of a stark-white background. Sound familiar? "To start browsing, simply touch and drag."
Related: Publicity Stunt Du Jour: Spend the Night at IKEA Thanks to Airbnb
Eghammer goes on to note the catalogue's other eye-catching specs, including eternal battery life, instant loading times, voice-activated password protection ("Excuse me, that's mine!") and easy access via "download" -- from one's own mailbox, of course.
From a publicity standpoint, IKEA has been acting downright goofy of late. Last month, for instance, an IKEA store in Australia offered three Airbnb renters the opportunity to spend the night in its cozy bedroom displays. The marketing ploy, complete with puppy wakeup calls and breakfast in bed, yielded these hilarious photos.
Related: Here's What Happened When Three Families Spent the Night at IKEA
