Ikea Agencies Unwittingly Made Two Holiday Ads With the Same Premise, and Both Are Adorable

Well this is odd. Ikea has launched two different holiday ads in two different countries starring two different precocious young magicians in very similar situations, but the connection is apparently just a coincidence. Luckily, both are quite good, and even if the more conspiratorially minded among us think there might be some creative cribbing going on here, it would certainly be a victimless crime. From the retailer's home nation of Sweden, agency Åkestam Holst brings us "Little Magic," in which a young girl in a top hat and cape attempts to impress her gathered family at the dinner table with feats of illusion. At first, they're supportive and politely ignore some of her more obvious tells. But then things get truly dramatic. [kickout id="1"] Meanwhile, in Canada, agency Rethink spins a holiday tale with a similar setup—a young magician attempting to impress relatives at the dinner table. But this time, things end a bit more merrily. The Canadian spot is from the same agency that recently created a sequel to Ikea's 16-year-old, much celebrated ad "Lamp," once again bringing a happy ending to a seemingly bleak scenario. [kickout id="2"] It's not unknown for brands to roll out similar creative as part of a global campaign involving multiple agencies, but apparently this one was truly just a coincidence, according to leaders who worked on both ads. For Ikea Canada, "Magic Man" and its theme of creating new life for older furniture, is a continuation of the recycling message seen in "Lamp 2." "This holiday season we set out to further strengthen our Beautiful Possibilities brand platform," Ikea Canada CMO Lauren MacDonald tells Adweek. "Magic Man continues our 'Sustainability and Circularity' narrative that we unveiled in the fall with 'Lamp 2.' While 'Lamp 2' told a circular story about giving a product a second life, Magic Man tells a circular story about prolonging a product’s life by reimagining its purpose and customizing it as a meaningful gift." The "Magic Man" ad aimed to bring the topic of re-use into the one place you'd least expect it: a holiday shopping ad, where you'd normally find an inescapable out-with-the-old consumerist mentality. “There is no question that the holiday season can be the most wasteful time of the year," MacDonald says. "The holidays create the conditions to tell a different story about gift giving that defies the cultural norm that a good gift must be new or expensive. This sweet story of a boy and his grandfather demonstrates that a thoughtful gift can truly bring about holiday magic, even if it’s not new or expensive." As for the similarity, teams on both ads said the spots were created completely independently (from different briefs too) and that they were surprised to see the ads share a creative premise. "It's just one of those coincidental occasions when things come out at the same time reminding you of each other," says Jesper Holst, co-founder of Åkestam Holst. "Magic in its own little way." CREDITS: Swedish Ad Client: Ikea Sweden Agency: Åkestam Holst Creative Director: Magnus Jacobsson Creatives: Rickard Beskow, Michal Sitkiewicz, Jesper Holst and Mark Ardelius Account Director: Kjell Månson Agency Producer: Leila Widgren Planner: Jerker Winther Director: Martin Werner/Bacon Cph Executive producer: Mette Jermlin/Bacon Cph CREDITS: Canadian Ad Agency: Rethink Client: Ikea Canada Creative Director: Aaron Starkman Art Director: Nick Noh Writer: Jordan Darnbrough Strategist: Sean McDonald, Stacy Ross Director of Broadcast: Shelby Spigelman Production Company: Frank Content Director: Rodrigo Garcia Saiz Editor: Griff Henderson Director of photography: Chris Mably Line Producer: Danielle Kappy / John Barreiro Postproduction House: Saints Editorial On-Line: Naveen Srivastava, The Vanity Grading: Wade Odlum, Alter Ego Audio Mix and Sound design: Vapor-rmw Audio Director: Ted Rosnick Audio Engineer: Art Mullin Music Licensing: Heather Gardner Music Track – "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo," Disney Account Services: Caleb Goodman, Managing Partner Marie Lunny, Group Account Director Sarah Riedlinger, Account Director Becky Rudson, Account Manager Client: Lauren MacDonald, Chief Marketing Officer, Ikea Jordan Sequeira, Brand Manager, Ikea

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Ikea Agencies Unwittingly Made Two Holiday Ads With the Same Premise, and Both Are Adorable

Young magicians star in spots from Sweden and Canada

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