Why Being ‘Proudly Second Best’ Is Working for IKEA
As a brand, it’s bold to claim yourself as ‘second best’, but that’s exactly what Al-Futtaim IKEA did in its latest campaign. The furniture retailer’s Egypt, Oman, Qatar and United Arab Emirates branches worked together with agencies INGO Hamburg and DAVID Madrid to create a gentle nod to the importance of family life and the furniture that makes it happen.
In the first of three spots, the camera softly pans from a cot to a sleeping baby, wriggling on its mother’s chest as ‘natural’ sounds accompany it in the background. With a tight timeframe to keep to and an emphasis on the subtleties of the audio aspect, the teams made sure to go back in during the edit and perfect each sound, enhancing it further to create an intimate feeling of parenthood. Above all else, the authenticity of these parent-and-child relationships is what anchored the campaign and kept the teams unified throughout the process – “the work is the boss” as they tell us.
The teams at INGO Hamburg and DAVID Madrid tell LBB’s Nisna Mahtani how the campaign’s director Michelle Cassis (at production company Sal Gorda) achieved the smoothest of shots, how they stuck to the budget and timeframe and how there may be more collaborations to come.
LBB> What was the starting point of the ‘Proudly the Second Best’ campaign? Can you tell us about some of the initial discussions with Al-Futtaim IKEA?
INGO & DAVID> From the beginning the goal was clear, we had to connect with parents. And when we came to Al-Futtaim IKEA with this idea, it seemed to them that besides having a very strong emotional connection, it perfectly conveyed the humble personality of IKEA. The debate was whether we should launch the campaign for a specific day such as Mother's or Father's Day. But in the end, we came to the conclusion that the concept was so strong that there was no need to link it to any day, it could make an impact on its own.
LBB> The gentle pans from product to reality are beautifully smooth. Can you tell us about the techniques you used and the atmosphere you were keen to create through this?
INGO & DAVID> Michelle Cassis [director] did a very fine job on the shoot. When we told her the idea, we explained the need to be subtle and delicate with the execution. We wanted to transmit real moments of intimacy between the parents and their children, so the change from product to parents had to be very smooth. She understood this perfectly and did her thing. She built very real scenarios, very vivid, she knew how to direct the parents without breaking their space of intimacy and she framed everything perfectly so that the camera could make very simple, choreographed movements. Each of the scenes has a similar technique, but each with its own personality.
LBB> Talk to us about the casting process and how you found the parents and children to feature in this spot. What were you looking out for?
INGO & DAVID> Casting children is not always easy, but the Sal Gorda team did a wonderful job, and in record time. They hired mothers and fathers with their children, who had previous experience in commercials of this type. That’s how we could get mothers interacting with their children for these commercials and we were able to get natural interactions that gave additional value to the idea.
LBB> How did you go about creating the sounds for the spot which seem very natural and in keeping with the settings? Did you live record or was it a process of curating the perfect sounds to match?
INGO & DAVID> This was an almost surgical job. We wanted the sound to transmit the same subtlety as the images, so the live sound was not enough. We had to remove and add sounds from the studio to achieve the perfect finesse. We worked hand in hand with the Wacho Hits team, who knew how to understand the tone of the idea down to the smallest detail. We had to remake sounds from scratch, trying to imitate reality. It was a trial and error job in which we had to add and subtract details until we found the perfect balance.
LBB> Tell us about the strategy which informed this campaign. What were some of the insights you were keeping in mind?
INGO & DAVID> We live in an age where we are obsessed with finding the perfect gadget for everything. In the world of baby products, this takes on a different relevance. Parents want to find the right gadget for their children and brands compete to offer it. But they forget something: for a child, the comfort and closeness of a parent will always be superior to any product. That's why we understood that IKEA's role was to remind the world of this universal truth.
LBB> What has the reaction in the region been like so far? How have people taken to the spot?
INGO & DAVID> The region has received the campaign in a way that has exceeded all our expectations. People have shared it so much that it has already transcended the region. People are now commenting on the campaign in Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian... and that's because we can all relate to such a universal insight.
LBB> Your two agencies came together once again following Burger King’s ‘Moldy Whopper’. What was the starting point of this collaboration on a new campaign?
INGO & DAVID> Because we have a shared history of successful collaboration in the past, we maintain a good relationship and speak regularly with each other on projects to try to find opportunities for collaboration. This one seemed the perfect fit.
LBB> What were some of the lessons you learnt from the campaign mentioned above and how did you bring that into your collaboration for this spot?
INGO & DAVID> We learnt that no matter what, the work is the boss. Always put that at the centre of every discussion and you have something that everyone and the room can agree on. There is no space for egos or for political games. There are enough real obstacles to overcome to protect a beautiful idea. Thankfully, we have a team of people that all agree on this. And while questioning a comment, or pushing for better is always on the table, there is such respect for each other that we all know every person is just trying to make the work better.
LBB> In your experience, what makes for a smooth collaboration between agencies? What are some of the things to consider?
INGO & DAVID> First, mutual admiration and respect for each other's work. For this project, we created a team with talented people that beyond knowing each other and having worked together previously, we knew and admired each other's work. This made the work process a constant exchange of ideas in a very comfortable space.
LBB> Did you face any challenges when creating the spot? Can you tell us about how you overcame them?
INGO & DAVID> This campaign was worked on a very limited budget and with an even tighter time frame. That always makes any project a challenge. We had to make the processes shorter and more effective. We had the one-day shoot planned and timed down to the smallest detail. We couldn't waste a single second.
LBB> Should we keep an eye out for any future collaborations from your teams?
INGO & DAVID> Of course. The chemistry between both teams and the sum of different styles has confirmed to us that this type of collaboration can make any idea that comes out much more powerful. That's why we keep talking about work on future projects that may not take long to appear.
