Fortune Favours the Frugal in IKEA's Sustainability Spot

IKEA has today announced the launch of a new integrated campaign aimed at encouraging the nation to think differently about the benefits of living a life of moderation.

Through the new campaign, ‘Fortune Favours the Frugal’, IKEA hopes to reposition the notion of ‘frugal’, which commonly has negative connotations, highlighting the benefits of being thrifty and sustainable instead, for both people and the planet alike.

The campaign will appear in broadcast TVC (60 and 20 second), cinema (60 second) and digital media across the UK and Ireland from January 2021, supported by OOH, and across a cluster of IKEA markets, including the US and Netherlands, during the year.

The TVC opens with an enormous meteor hurtling through space on a collision course with Earth. 

As it gets closer it becomes apparent that it isn't made from lunar rock but is instead an enormous, tangled ball of waste. Plastic junk, lightbulbs and other pieces of landfill twist and turn as the meteor hurtles ever closer towards earth, with a trail of light and pollution strewn in its wake. 

Down on Earth, we see a news reporter on TV discussing the dire state of the environment. She says: “We are running out of time to prevent disaster unless we seriously change our habits.” 

We see a young girl laying on the floor watching the report, before plugging headphones into an 80s style Walkman. She hits play and with that, the mood changes. An uplifting, feel good track, ‘Making it better’ by The Barons, plays and we realise that there is an opposing force to this giant global threat.

The little girl’s mother puts a jar of pickles into cabinets lined with glass jars filled with preserves, pasta and other ingredients and we immediately see some plastic bottles and disposable containers wriggling free from the meteor before bursting into smithereens and disappearing.

Indeed, the more positive actions made on earth, the more the meteor disintegrates. We see the girl’s father cleaning vegetables over a washing up bowl, whilst his son sits on the counter picking fresh herbs. Meanwhile, her mother replaces an old filament bulb with an eco-friendly LED one, whilst another man hangs his washing on a drying rack. A student upcycles an old chair while drinking from a reusable cup, causing disposable coffee cups to break free from the meteor and fly through the air, spilling the last drops as they go.

The meteor breaks down so much that when it finally enters Earth’s atmosphere it’s no more than a single plastic bottle which harmlessly drops into the family’s backyard. The little girl from the start of the ad girl kneels down, picks it up, looks at it for a moment before casually throwing it into the correct recycling bin.

In the final shot, we see past her garden and into the entire neighbourhood which is bathed in a beautiful end-of-day light. Everyone is doing their part.

The voiceover proclaims: Fortune Favours the Frugal. IKEA. The Wonderful Everyday.

Alongside the TV ad, IKEA has a range of OOH going live which aims to bring to life the small acts that make a big difference. Refillable bottles, recyclable straws, homegrown herbs and energy-saving LED lights juxtaposed against epic scenes of the natural world serve to bring the long-term effects on the environment – and how to counter them – to life.  

Kemi Anthony, marketing communications manager at IKEA said: “As a business, IKEA has a made clear commitment to help protect our planet from the effects of climate change, reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and designing all products to be reused, refurbished, remanufactured and recycled.

“In the last year alone we have introduced a new, plant-based alternative to our iconic meatball, which has just 4% of the classic meatball’s carbon footprint; and we announced that we’re removing all non-alkaline batteries from our range, encouraging customers to use rechargeable ones instead. What’s more, early in January 2021 we will be launching Buy Back – an initiative that will see our stores buy back unwanted IKEA furniture from customers in return for a voucher to spend when they really need something.

“’Fortune Favours the Frugal’ encapsulates IKEA's commitment to continue to adapt the business and inspire people to think differently about the benefits of living a life of moderation over a life of excess. Small acts now will make a huge difference in years to come."

The campaign is fully supported across paid and earned channels by PR, CRM and bespoke content created for Instagram, Youtube, Facebook and Pinterest.