This IKEA Ad Is a Coupon And a Pregnancy Test
Welcome to dystopia. Here, magazine ads contain both coupons and pregnancy tests. Yes, you can now pee on an IKEA ad to see if a) you qualify for a discount, and b) you’re pregnant. This very real ad will tell you if you’re with child and if you are (mazel tov, by the way), you’ll receive a coupon for cribs.
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The agency discussed the nuts and bolts of the ad:
In order to make the interactive functions of this ad work in reality, we had to make several technical advancements. The pregnancy test strip was used as a starting point, which relies on antibodies that bind to the pregnancy hormone hCG, resulting in a color change. For scaling up of this technique and adopting it to the physical format of a printed ad, Mercene Labs has used their experience in development of surface active materials for microfluidics and medical diagnostics. Careful selection of materials, together with a controlled capillary flow have been crucial for the success of this project. Technical advancements made during the work with this campaign have the potential to improve medical diagnostics.
You can head over to AdWeek for a video that explains the how of the ad but not the why (WHY?????). Kudos to IKEA and Åkestam Holst for innovative advertising and our deepest sympathies to the IKEA employees who may be encountering pee covered ads in their future.
How steep of a discount would it take for you to tinkle on a magazine ad? Mine is probably much lower than I’d like to admit.
h/t The Cut