Durex spices up IKEA's 'U Up?' campaign with a cheeky twist

Durex has jumped onto IKEA Canada's latest "U up?" campaign to power real-time engagement for the condom and personal lubricant brand. Earlier last week, IKEA direct messaged late-night scrollers in Canada with a text that reads "U up?" to promote sales of its mattresses. Seeing it as a perfect opportunity to jump in, Durex flipped it back on IKEA and messaged them "U up?". 

When IKEA responded asking "How was your sleep?", Durex cheekily said "Sleep? Nah, we were too busy keeping people up." 

"Next time, make sure you're getting the most out of your night too with our naughty goodies," added Durex in its message to IKEA. It also sent IKEA a link to its website selling sex toys. 

Don't miss: IKEA sends late-night naughty 'U up?' DM to insomniacs 

The campaign, created by McCann Worldgroup Greece, aims to engage in real-time marketing, spark conversation and reinforce Durex's playful, bold personality. By jumping into IKEA's late-night campaign, Durex aimed to create buzz, entertain audiences and keep its brand top of mind in a fun and unexpected way. 

Durex's cheeky twist on IKEA's campaign has received positive response thus far, with audiences loving the playful exchange and social media lighting up with likes, shares and comments appreciating the witty back-and-forth said a spokesperson in conversation with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE. The interaction quickly gained traction too, sparking organic conversations and keeping Durex in the conversation alongside IKEA's campaign. 

"Brands must have fun—because when we enjoy the conversation, our audience does too," said Panos Pagonis, creative director, McCann Worldgroup Greece when MARKETING-INTERACTIVE reached out. 

Durex is known to put out cheeky and playful campaigns. In Malaysia, discussions on safe sex are discouraged in public universities and schools, as well as on social media. 

To circumvent barriers, the condom and personal lubricants company tapped on local slang and cheeky, suggestive videos in hopes of raising awareness on the importance of safe sex. 

Some of the lingo included "Stokin? Tak feel ah" ('Socks? Can't feel it') and "So kaki korang pulak saiz apa?" (So what's your shoe size?). 

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