January 13, 2018
A Swedish advertising agency recently came up with a new way to bring in customers for IKEA: pregnancy tests. More specifically, the furniture retail giant's ad encourages women who may be pregnant to pee on a marked area on the ad.
If you're pregnant, it reveals a special discounted price on cribs, according to a report in Adweek. The ad reportedly uses technology similar to what's in a pregnancy-test kit.
"Peeing on this ad may change your life," the ad reads. "This ad is also a pregnancy test. Pee on the marked area and wait a moment. If you are expecting, you will get a surprise right here on the ad."
Ikea Wants You to Pee on This Ad. If You’re Pregnant, It Will Give You a Discount on a Crib https://t.co/ZlsMPw80kt pic.twitter.com/7qZVcq8kPT
— Adweek (@Adweek) January 13, 2018
The ad also encourages women whose urine sample tests positive to apply for an IKEA Family membership card, which offers discounts on select items.
If a woman has enough of the pregnancy hormone hCG in her urine, the IKEA ad reveals that a Sundvik crib costing 995 krona (about $120) will be slashed to 495 krona ($60).
IKEA sent the following statement on the ad to The Washington Post:
“IKEA products are inspired by life itself, and are all a big part of the everyday life at home. Life contains those magical, life-changing moments, and IKEA wants to be right there when they happen. This ad was created as part of the ‘where life happens’ campaign for the Swedish market only and has been published in a limited edition of the Swedish magazine Amelia. There are no plans to place this ad in other markets, including the U.S.”
Like IKEA's "Where life happens" marketing campaign, which touched on taboo topics like divorce and single-parent households, the ad caused a bit of a stir.
IKEA is Swedish for “divorce labyrinth.”
— Dad and Buried (@DadandBuried) January 11, 2018
Is it April fools yet?#IKEA is asking women to pee on its ad – to check if they’re pregnant: https://t.co/ZBDEp7VF71 #MarketingWeek pic.twitter.com/m5KuzK3rhI
— Marketing Week (@MarketingWeekEd) January 12, 2018
RETWEET if you enjoyed my #IKEA sketch comedy skit on @JimmyKimmelLive: https://t.co/6TYTtxGF9t
— Dave Vescio (@DaveVescio) January 12, 2018
As if IKEA have an advert in a magazine that you pee on and if ur pregnant get half price cribs. I can't work out if it's genius or just gross
— Kwells (@katewells27) January 10, 2018
