IKEA taps on uniquely Singaporean humour in hilarious National Day post

Hyper-localised memes are certainly a Singaporean thing, and IKEA is jumping on the bandwagon in honor of Singapore's 59th birthday on 9th August with a hilarious social media post. 

In the post, IKEA features its KLIPPAN 2-seater sofa and its GLADOM tray table as well as its STOENSE low-pile rug. On the left, it shows the items in red and white with the caption, "me on 9 Aug". On the right, it shows the same items, but this time, in yellow, black and blue, some of IKEA's iconic brand colours. 

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"We wanted to hijack the trend we’ve seen often on social media of people comparing themselves before and after an event. At the same time, we wanted to tap into the humor of something so uniquely Singaporean: the passionate surge of national spirit that only happens during the season of our nation’s birthday," said a spokesperson from The Secret Little Agency which worked with the brand on the post. 

They added:

It comes as quickly as it goes - everyone hangs their flags and wears red & white but right after National Day, it’s suddenly business as usual.

The spokesperson went on to say that it was a fun way for IKEA to join the conversation of National Day this year.

“Our goal with IKEA is always to find meaningful ways to tap into culture. With this post, we saw the opportunity for us to participate in celebrating our nation’s birthday in a way that is undeniably IKEA whilst being relatable to every Singaporean,” said Shahrin Izhar, associate creative director, The Secret Little Agency.

The spokesperson also said that netizens have been enjoying how resonant the post has been to Singaporean realities and that it’s been great to see Singaporeans laugh together with it.

IKEA is well known for its cheeky and hilarious ads. Earlier this year, IKEA took former Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's Chinese New Year call for young Singaporeans to boost birth rates by welcoming "a little dragon" into their homes to the next level with a new ad complying with the request. 

Promoting its new year duvet and pillowcase sets, the ads cheekily say, "It's getting Huat in here" and "Unleash your Dragon". Below the ads, IKEA wishes customers a "Happy Valentine's Night".

Both ads were created by The Secret Little Agency which was appointed as IKEA's lead creative agency of record as of October last year. 

The Secret Little Agency now handles all integrated campaigns, marketing strategy, product campaigns, digital and social communications development, and more in its remit. 

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