We’ve all done it – or at least I do it.  Watching the latest movie at the cinema or program on the box you bark out: “They’ve got the same teapot as us” or whatever household item you happen to see on screen that is the same make and model as yours.  We notice household goods on screen. That’s one thing.  But how would you feel if someone flashed an ad against familiar objects with price and name?  Well, that is exactly what those clever / intrusive people at IKEA have done.

Guerilla marketers in Austria were armed with high powered portable torch-like projectors. They then beamed names and prices of IKEA products as they actually and inadvertently (i.e. not via product placement) appeared during the movie, on the screen, next to famous actors.  Be that George Clooney chopping carrots with the “Distinxt” chopping knife (19.95 euros) or a couple making love on a Karlstad (I’m not sure if it’s a sofa or bed. The gyrating flesh obscured the product.  I do know that it costs 119 euros).

The agency behind this, DDB Germany, have a solid rationale: “This surprising execution fits perfectly to the IKEA principle: surprise the many people with fresh ideas for everybody’s everyday life. After the show we consequently distributed IKEA catalogues in front of the cinema.”  The results seem impressive without knowing the cost: 92 screenings, 13,000 viewers and 5000 catalogues taken – 4000 more then targeted.

See the case study video for more details and a bit of a laugh. Here it is.

There are some questions here on what lessons this holds, if any, for a larger play in online video.

We are far from having all the answers on monetising online content and best use of adverts. This “beaming” of prices could scale online. Instead of a sad man with a torch, software already exists that can project text/images/ads onto video online.  Marketing messages overlaid onto existing or virtual billboards or onto sports pitches and hoardings has a certain logic.   Could this be extended to product names and prices on the actual objects?  I guess if users signed-up to this as part and parcel of getting the content free, it may appeal to certain demographics, for certain brands, such as IKEA, and for certain light entertainment content. But even in this scenario, I really don’t see this as having any legs.  It’s too disruptive and of limited value to the viewer once the gimmick wears off. If the lessons of online tell us anything it is that engagement, context and permission are fundamental to long term marketing success.

This IKEA campaign packs a punch and gets short term results but that’s it.