This IKEA Let Customers Wearing Yellow Be “Co-Workers for the Day”

Have you ever accidentally worn a shirt that looks exactly like the store uniform where you’re shopping? Well, an IKEA in Al-Futtaim, Dubai, rewarded customers who accidentally wore yellow in their store — they made them employees for the day, discounts and all.

The campaign called “IKEA’s Employee of the Day” let any customer who wore yellow — the color of the IKEA uniform — put on a special lanyard and become a “co-worker of the day.” As a result, many customers were able to experience what it’s like to work at IKEA while helping actual staff during busy hours — and of course, they got rewarded for their time via an employee discount.

“During sale season, Al-Futtaim IKEA’s foot traffic can increase by over 600 percent,” the campaign’s advertising agency, Memac Ogilvy, told Design Taxi. “To combat this, the region’s leading Swedish home furnishing retailer took advantage of a very common fashion mishap: wearing a yellow shirt to your local IKEA.”

To learn the ropes, the customers-turned-employees used the
Fingers crossed that this kind of campaign rolls out in other IKEA locations, too. Maybe wear a yellow shirt to your next IKEA trip, just in case!