advertisingatitsbest

Ikea is an innovative company with innovative products.  So, how does their advertising measure up?

Ikea has countless creative advertising techniques and overly unique promotions.  Let’s take a few days and view a variety of their campaigns; some new…some old!

Beginning with a play on one of the most recognizable campaigns in the word!

1. Absolut-ly Fabulous

Ikea takes advantage of the infamous Absolut ad campaign, and actually placed furniture and created a 3D billboard mocking the set up of a New York apartment on this billboard in Soho.

Source: Marketallica

My personal favorite is next and sorry about all of the photos, but Ikea takes it above and beyond with the endless possibilities of this campaign!

2. A little fabric goes a long way

Ikea recently took on a mission of covering the streets with fabric. To promote the company and their products, Ikea used:

Bus wraps,

The interior of buses,

Benches,

Parking Meters,

And even bicycle seats.

Source: Marketallica

3. Happy Birthday!
“To celebrate its’ 40th anniversary, the IKEA in Stockholm decorated its’ store like a birthday cake. IKEAs are still few and far between in the US but are very popular in Europe as the brand has been around since 1943. Instead of creating a whole anniversary campaign, IKEA used what they already had, their store, to promote the celebration,” Amy Gifford’s past article on Inventor Spot explained.

Source: Marketallica
What do you think of Ikea’s advertising techniques?  Which one of the above three is the most effective in getting Ikea’s message across?

If you have seen other Ikea ads that are effective, creative and innovative, please share!

Source: Amy Gifford/InventorSpot

Last month, Expedia used this blue sky themed, painters extravaganza, guerilla marketing campaign to promote the longest day of the year.

Expedia in London celebrated the July 21 Summer Solstice by hosting a variety Blue Sky Day painting events in Edinburgh, Cornwall, Brighton, Liverpool and London, according to Adrants.

“In London, the event worked in partnership with The National Gallery and London’s Trafalgar Square and was set up with 200 easels for aspiring artists, with three pieces being selected for the organization’s gallery,” said the article.

In addition to the 200 painters in London, there were an additional 100 in Edinburgh.

What do you think of this guerilla marketing technique?  Effective for Expedia?  What about the PR and word of mouth that came from the event?

Source: Adrants 

When you think of Ben and Jerry’s what immediately comes to mind? Chunky Monkey? Cookie Dough?

What about Elton John?! The newest addition to the Ben and Jerry’s ice cream line is a limited edition flavor from Sir Elton John. The charity ice cream flavor is called “Goodbye Yellow Brickle Road,” and all proceeds from sales will go to Elton’s AIDS foundation.

According to his chairty website, Elton’s AIDS foundation was “established by Sir Elton John in 1992, the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) is one of the world’s leading nonprofit organizations supporting innovative HIV/AIDS prevention education programs and direct care and support services to people living with HIV/AIDS. Since its founding, EJAF has raised over $125 million to support worthy programs in 55 countries around the globe.”

The delicious Goodbye Yellow Brickle Road flavor will only be available at Vermont Scoop Shops for one week. So make sure you visit during the week of July 18-25! This week was chosen as a “celebration of Elton’s first concert in Vermont, the home town of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream. Vermont is also the last American state that Elton has yet to perform in,” says a Trendhunter article.
And what exactly does this ice cream taste like? People Magazine notes that the ice cream will be decidedly Elton, “An outrageous symphony of decadent chocolate ice cream, peanut butter cookie dough, butter brickle and white chocolate chunks.”

What do you think? Will this be a successful promotion for the Elton John concert? What do you think of all of the profits going to charity?

Source: Trendhunter

The Golden Magazine will be hitting newsstands soon!

No, this is not the title of the magazine and no, this is not the newest “must read” magazine.

Kohl magazine will celebrate it’s launch with a cover that actually includes 91 grams of gold and 622 diamonds on the cover. And Katrina Kaif is the lucky and beautiful model who will be gracing the cover of this launch issue.

According to Trendhunter, it is estimated that this one magazine will cost $10,000 to produce!!

Kohl magazine is the UAE’s first and only women’s lifestyle and fashion monthly catering to intelligent and educated Asian women between the ages of 25 - 40, said a recent article at ArabianBusiness.com .

The look and design of the Kohl magazine cover was created by Damas, an exclusive jewelry designer and manufacturer. Not only is the cost of the magazine astronomical but the cover actually took over 86 hours to make!

The magazine will not literally be hitting newsstands but it will be on display at various locations before going up for auction to benefit a charity.

What do you think?

Sounds to me like a pretty good, and pretty expensive, PR move! Talk about great publicity!

Source: Trendhunter

In a recent article from AdAge, the magazine reads, “The most reputable company in America: Google, which toppled Microsoft from the top perch in the 2007 Harris Interactive Reputation Quotient study released today — and sent it tumbling all the way down to No. 10. “

The most interesting part about this, to me is that having Google up this high on the list just goes to show and even a company that spends very little on advertising can still be the most positively perceived by consumers.

The Harris study, who published the above results, measured the reputations of the most visible companies in the U.S., in a two phase study. The first consisted of phone and online interviews of more than 7,000 people to identify the 60 most visible companies.

The second phase, the AdAge article continues to explain, was conducted six months later, and included 20,000 online interviews with U.S. consumers asking them to rate those companies’ reputations on 20 attributes in six categories: emotional appeal, products and services, social responsibility, vision and leadership, workplace environment, and financial performance.

Being from Michigan, another interesting statistic that caught my eye in the study was the US automakers place on the list. Toyota was No. 15 on the list, while Detroit’s Big Three -Chrysler (No. 51), GM (No. 52) and Ford (No. 54) were near the bottom.

Read the full article by Michael Bush here .

What are your thoughts? Do you agree with the study? How do you feel about Google as opposed to GM?

Tampons are just one of those products that are hard to talk about, let alone advertise for.  Check out how the following three companies are creatively advertising for feminine hygiene products.

1.) Elegance

At first glance, this chandelier looks ordinary and beautiful!

Now take a closer look!

The monster-sized chandelier is actually composed of hundreds of white O.B. tampons.  What do you think of this incredibly creative PR stunt put out by O.B.?

Source: Ads of the World 

2.) Super Strong

This Tampax logo was painted on to a large dam and  highlights Tampax’s ability to absorb and stop liquid flow.

Source: Ads of the World

3.)  Ultra

Last yearModess used this feminine hygiene promotion in the sinks in women’s washrooms to emphasize the amazing absorbing capabilities of their product.

Source: Visual Fun House

What do you think of these feminine hygiene ads?  Are they creative? Or too over the top?

They all definitely grabbed my attention!  What about yours?