IKEA brings to life iconic living rooms from Simpsons and Friends

IKEA has launched a "Real Life" campaign series which brings to life iconic living rooms of popular shows such as Friends, The Simpsons as well as Netflix series Stranger Things. The campaign, unveiled in United Arab Emirates, categorised the different living room format such as "Room for mates", "Room for families" and "Room for everyone" without mentioning the shows.According to Adweek, the campaign was created by Publicis Spain in an "arduous and months-long" process. The agency gathered the furniture items from IKEA and used a 3D design software to recreate similar furniture pieces.The campaign is also said to run in print ads, social media, IKEA's catalogs as well as a live event in the Middle East. Featuring IKEA furniture pieces, the recreation of iconic living rooms were listed on IKEA's site for fans to surf and purchase. Marketing has reached out to Publicis Spain for additional information on the campaign.IKEA has also recently turned to augmented reality (AR), telling several news outlets that it will be launching an app which allows customers to visualise the products before purchase. Customers can also directly order through the app. The initial AR app was launched in 2017 but the function to purchase directly was not implemented yet. According to Reuters, the updated app will be launched and tested in Europe first, before potentially venturing into other markets.This new strategy to focus on eCommerce comes after IKEA aims to slash approximately 7,500 jobs worldwide by 2020. IKEA's parent company Ingka looks to recruit approximately 11,500 people over the span of two years as the company looks to open 30 new stores and adopt “digital capabilities”. Closer to home, IKEA Southeast Asia has an ongoing closed-door creative pitch. BBH Singapore has been the lead agency on the account for the past six years.