By Carla Klumpenaar, GM Marketing, Communication, Design Al-Futtaim IKEA

Earth Day is an important event for the many. The day is dedicated to people growing more conscious of the way they live, thereby creating awareness about the various environmental challenges that face our planet. At IKEA, we always strive to make life at home better for the many people. Sustainability is a very important part of our brand and we offer a range of products that are not only sustainable but also affordable, attractive, and accessible for the many. 

This year aimed at inspiring people to lead a healthy and sustainable life, promoting circular and sustainable consumption and creating a movement around better everyday. The campaign highlights the importance of practicing sustainability in the many homes thereby leading by example for the future generation. 

Our campaign film tells the story of a regular family – a mother, father, and child, except the mother is a charming eco-conscious polar bear. We follow a day in the life of this family and see the mother’s quest to show her family how to live in a way that does not harm the environment. The film shows the passion of mama bear and how she encourages her family to make changes to daily habits and live more sustainably. Mama bear growls and grinds her teeth angrily at her husband and child when she sees them being wasteful but, she means well, and we occasionally get to see her loving side as well. Obviously, she’s not always a pleasure to be around. For example, she stands in front of the TV as the father and son try to watch football. But we soon realize what she’s doing is far more important, she’s only replacing a regular bulb with a far more energy-efficient one from IKEA. Mama bear may come off as annoying sometimes but it’s best we all listen to her. It’s what nature would do if nature were you.

Our aim  is to inspire and enable more than 70 million people in the region to live a better everyday life. Because, as Ingvar Kamprad said: ‘No method is more effective than the good example.’ Currently, 60 percent of IKEA range is based on renewable materials, while nearly 10 percent contain recycled materials. By 2025, we pledge to design every product from the very beginning to be reused, refurbished, remanufactured and eventually recycled, by applying its circular product design principles during the product development process.

Credits

AGENCY – Memac Ogilvy 

Juggi Ramakrishnan – Chief Creative Officer, MENA

Gautam Wadher – Group Creative Director

Alok Mohan – Creative Director

Rajaa Chami – Senior Producer

Hadi Ballout – Managing Partner

Alaa Nour – Senior Account Manager

 

CLIENT – Al Futtaim IKEA

Carla Klumpenaar – GM Marketing, Communication, HF and Retail Design (UAE, Egypt, and Oman) 

Binita Chowdhury – PR & communication Specialist

Dina Al Sahhar- Regional Digital Marketing Leader

Luiza Jodziewicz- Regional Interior Design leader at IKEA – Al Futtaim

 

PRODUCTION HOUSE – TRUFFLE

Executive Producers – Cynthia Chammas & Michel Abou Zeid

Director – Amr El Hadad

DOP / Cinematography – Kamal Samy

Production Design – Assem Ali 

Producer – Ehab El Koury

Bear Performer – Peter Elliott

Assistant Director – Youssef Taha

Wardrobe Stylist – Yasmine Tazy 

Editor – Sebastien Leclercq

Colorist – Belal Hibri

Sound Design – Martin Dirkov

Post Production Producer – Mary Abi Akl