Ikea Turns One Good Night of Sleep Into a Lovely, Poetic Slice of Life for Two Moms

For parents, sleep is the world’s most precious resource. But many forces seem aligned to deny it to you, from the capricious sleep schedules of children to your mind’s litany of self-doubts and unfinished tasks.

In Ikea’s newest ad out of Amsterdam, agency Havas Lemz and production house CZAR Amsterdam create a beautiful and calming meditation on good sleep.

The visuals tell the story of a same-sex couple catching what sleep they can while their toddler is down, and we see the house magically tidying itself as the moms’ internal batteries recharge (though I’d argue that the fact they reach 100 percent is more unbelievable than the laundry putting itself away).

But it’s in the copywriting that this 60-second spot truly shines. The poetic narration captures the many obstacles, most often internal, that keep us from simply letting go of our day and drifting off.

Among the lines that will resonate with parents—or, honestly, anyone:

“What consumes your mind controls your life.”

“Don’t get blinded by the sight of things that could have, should have, might. Embrace the darkness, cherish the peace. Go on, give in to that sweet release.”

That’s advice we could all use, and while it’s unlikely that the meticulous organization of Ikea products could help get us there, the ad itself is a worthy reminder that we all deserve the time to think about…well, nothing at all.

CREDITS:
Client: Ikea

Agency: Havas Lemz
Copywriter: Sander van de Vlasakker
Art Director: Rein van der Ven
RTV Producer: Marga Bierema

Production: CZAR Amsterdam
Director: Floris Kingma
Producer: Roos Blank
Production Manager: Aemilia van Lent
Director of Photography: Gabor Deak
First AD: Philip de longh
Public Relations: Rizka Soetjoko

David Griner

@griner

David Griner is creative and innovation editor for Adweek. He's been covering agencies, creativity, technology and marketing innovation for more than a decade and is host of Adweek's podcast.