Responses by Raquel Martínez, executive creative director, McCann Madrid
Background: The idea for this campaign was born when the Spanish government announced the immediate closure of schools as the first measure to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 in Spain. Further drastic measures would also include forcing people to lock themselves in their houses. IKEA’s marketing team, led by Laura Durán and McCann Madrid, decided that the brand should be empathetic to what was happening.
Reasoning: We wanted to give the home a voice. We focused on reminding people that in this unprecedented and difficult moment, homes are always going to be there for us, despite what may come.
Challenges: The thirty-second spot was produced during the weekend, and since we had restrictions that prohibited any film shooting in the country, we had to use images from an already produced campaign in other regions. We also looked for voice talent who had a recording studio at home, as well as an assembly team. The spot was finally developed in both Spanish and English, and post-produced in different formats and lengths for social media and television.
Time constraints: The short amount of time we had to get the campaign ready was not an impediment to thinking creatively, but it did influence the spot’s final form. We had to go with images that were already shot since it was impossible to carry out a normal production, given the government-imposed restrictions.
Specific demands: Given the sensitive situation, the project had, of course, a greater level of difficulty. Until now, we have never had to face a situation like this in all aspects, due to the conditions of teleworking, the lack of time and the uncertainty about everything that was to come. But great opportunities also arise from these kinds of situations and we took it that way, developing a campaign in record time that we are proud of.
Alternative approach: It’s difficult to know how else we would face this project in this crisis that we are all experiencing. Every day is different, so all of us, whether as a society, as an industry or as creatives, are adapting to what is happening minute by minute. The approach would probably be very similar.