Ad Critique- “ThisAbles”

My favorite ad from the festival this week was IKEA’s  “ThisAbles” campaign commercial. It won three Bronze Lions, three Silver Lions, four Gold Lions, and a Grand Prix. The advertisement explained how for one in ten people, regular furniture is a regular problem and special needs furniture is twice as expensive as regular furniture. To combat this issue, IKEA made product add-ons to allow disabled individuals to customize their IKEA furniture. These add-ons could be downloaded from their website and made via 3D printer, or found at their store– all for free.  According to the video they showed at the award ceremony, these products have already been downloaded and printed in one hundred and twenty seven countries. Since last year, IKEA’s sales for these products with available add-ons have increased by 37% and their revenue is up 33%. Not only did I kea work to make their furniture customizable and more accessible, they directly reached out to consumers to get their input and suggestions for what kind of items would be the most beneficial for people with different disabilities not only did IKEA work to make their furniture customizable and more accessible, they directly reached out to consumers to get their input and suggestions for what kinds of add-ons would be the most beneficial for people with different disabilities. When I saw this ad at the awards ceremony, I was in tears. I had never thought about the struggles that disabled people face when it comes to finding affordable furniture because I have been fortunate enough to not need special needs furniture. In my opinion, IKEA executed this campaign flawlessly. It brought light to an issue than many of us have never thought about before while also helping individuals with disabilities get the furniture they need at a reasonable cost. I loved the way that the company also worked directly with consumers to create these add-ons and they are continuing to grow their database of add-ons by listening to their customers suggestions and working alongside them to help more people. It truly showed that IKEA wasn’t only supporting the inclusivity of disabled individuals, they are actually taking action and making their products more inclusive in order to help their disabled customers. If you haven’t seen the ad yet, you should definitely watch it.