Seems that newspaper ads in Australia are taking their cues from Mad Magazine.  Here’s another ad that entices the reader to play with the paper by turning the issue into a mini wardrobe closet.  I guess you’d associate the cleverness of the ad with the cleverness of the product, and that’s harmless enough in this case.  The closet is pretty efficiently organized.

People will probably show the ad to their friends, in hopes that some of that cleverness would then be associated with them.  Now that Ikea has turned a newspaper into a fake closet, there’s a chance consumers will expect more advertising stunts from the company.  Then again, maybe we all expect marketing stunts to invade our daily routines already, and we’ve turned candid camera set ups into today’s billboards.  I find those campaigns to be too much entertainment for me.

Ikea took a risk by building fake closets out of flimsy paper.  It’s not like the company’s known for sturdy construction, someone who doesn’t get it might say.  But that’s okay – this is a progressive ad for progressive people, it’s not Ikea in family mode.  No baby clothes in that closet.  It’s as much an endorsement of enlightened bachelor living as it is of modern Scandinavian design.

credits
Advertising Agency: 303, Perth, Australia
Creative Director: Lindsay Medalia
Copywriter: Richard Berney
Art Director: Richard Berney
Account Manager: Jane Natalizio

Tags: 303, advertising, Australia, Ikea