2023 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

Moving day is a unique tradition in Quebec, with 250,000 people moving on the same day: July 1st. IKEA recognized this opportunity and aimed to remain the leader in the category for Quebecers. Moving can be stressful, and things don't always go as planned, which can lead to frustration and swearing. Fortunately, IKEA product names bear similar phonetics to Quebec swear words, creating an opportunity to connect with Quebecers in a way no other brands could.

The Swearnitures campaign replaced curse words with IKEA product names that could solve the problem. The campaign was brought to life through various touchpoints, such as billboards, TSAs, wildposting, radio, and social media posts. The creative mechanic was consistent throughout all touchpoints. Headlines depicting a relatable moving-specific tension with an easy-to-deduce swear word were the stepping stone of all executions. For example, “We’ve got so much FRYKEN stuff” or “The movers scratched the GODDAG table.”

Every swear word was covered with an iconic black and white IKEA product name tag, carefully selected to sound similar to a curse word but also to specifically solve the problem. For example, FRYKEN is a box, a perfect solution for the lack of storage, and GODDAG is a placemat, ideal for covering imperfections on a dining table. Even popular French curses like “tabarnak,” “câlisse,” and “criss” were replaced with similar-sounding IKEA product names like “TÅRBÄK” (a rug), “KALLAX” (the iconic bookshelf), and “KRYSSMAT” (a lamp collection).

To anchor IKEA as a solution for every moving need, the campaign was signed off with: “Everything for a smooth move.” The Swearnitures campaign was an instant success, both in terms of reception and business results. Quebecers immediately recognized themselves in this humorous tone and even reused the puns in their comments to praise the campaign: “It’s FRYKEN funny.”

The campaign received widespread media coverage, including La Presse, MTL Blog, Salut Bonjour, and Radio-Canada. The campaign saw a 1,436% increase in engagement on social media. Most importantly, IKEA saw a 36% increase in year-over-year sales (June-August) and a 14% increase in ROI in 2022 versus 10% in 2021. The Swearnitures campaign was a success, demonstrating that connecting authentically with Quebecers in a local way can yield significant results.

Credits

Chief Creative Officer: Aaron Starkman
Chief Strategy Officer: Sean McDonald
Executive Creative Director: Xavier Blais
Creative Director: Xavier Blais
Art Director: Steve Pepin, Preto Murara
Writer: Geneviève Jannelle, Aman Soin
Producer: Jenna Fullerton, Kate Spencer, Keegan Shay
Studio Artist: Brad Kumar, Todd Bennett, Justin Chan,
Stephanie Sherwood, Ken Malley
Video Edit: Nick Greaves
Head of Strategy: Pascal Routhier
Lead Strategist: Suzy Truong
Account Services: Catherine B. Mainville, Gabrielle Bergeron,
Megan Christopher, Kiara Wilson
Sound: Circonflex
Media: Carat
Producer: Jenna Fullerton
Creative Director: Xavier Blais
Account Director: Catherine B. Mainville

Clients:
Jordan Sequeira
Carolyn Thrasher
Johanna Andren